EU wood furniture imports fall relative to non-wood furniture

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ITTO
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Analysis of furniture trade trends by material type using 12 month rolling average data suggests that EU domestic manufacturers are generally becoming more competitive relative to imports in supply of wood and, to a lesser extent, metal furniture.

However, import penetration into the EU appears to be growing in the smaller market segment for plastic furniture. Chart 3 shows the trend in EU imports of furniture by material type between January 2010 and April 2014.

EU imports of wood furniture have generally been declining since the start of 2011. In contrast, imports of metal furniture re ached a peak in January 2011 and remained quite stable until around the middle of 2012 when they started to slow gradually. Meanwhile imports of plastic furniture have been rising consistently over the last 4 years, although from a relatively small base.

Over this period, the share in furniture imports of wood has fallen from 63% to 55%, while the share of metals has risen from 33% to 40% and of plastics from 2.5% to 3.8%.

EU imports of bamboo, rattan and similar furniture remain negligible. Chart 4 shows the trend in EU exports of furniture by material type using 12 month rolling average data between January 2010 and April 2014. During this period, EU exports of metal furniture have risen alongside exports of wood furniture.

The EU exports only negligible amounts of plastic and bamboo furniture. Between January 2010 and April 2014, the share in EU furniture exports of wood has fallen slightly from 78% to 77%, while the share of metals has increased from 20% to 21% and of plastics from 1.6% to 1.8%.

Overall these trends indicate that while wood remains the dominant material in the EU furniture market there has been a partial switch towards more use of metal and plastic. It is possible that some EU furniture retailers are switching away from wood in imported products due to the greater regulatory control through EUTR relative to other materials.

However the fact that metals also now make up a larger share of EU exports suggests fashion and other commercial factors are also at play. Europe an fashion in wood furniture is strongly towards oak and other domestic species, a trend much encouraged by EU manufacturers to increase their own competitiveness relative to imported products. Fashions are also generally towards a greater mix of materials in furniture.

The rise of plastic on the margins is an indication of the widely reported move towards this material in the garden furniture sector, partly in response to lack of availability and higher prices of quality tropical hardwoods like teak.

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