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inflation, particularly for energy, and rising interest rates. were increasing rapidly in the years to 2021.
Renewed interest in other discretionary spending categories, The rise in European internal trade and in imports from
such as travel, added to the challenges in the furniture outside the region which began in 2013 as the European
market last year. economy gradually recovered from the Sovereign Debt crisis,

The costs of producing furniture in the EU also continued continued throughout the pandemic in 2020 and accelerated
to rise in 2023. High energy prices, costs of capital and rising in 2021.
labour costs could not be passed onto customers, greatly European exports of wood furniture to countries outside
reducing profitability. the region, which were flat in the period between 2013 and
Extra-EU export prospects, particularly in the US and 2020, also increased in 2021. However, all these trends
China, were also cooling and were not buoyant enough to reversed starting in the second half of 2022. European imports,
support EU production. Various bankruptcies, layoffs and exports and internal trade in wood furniture declined by 18
downsizing plans were reported in the industry last year. percent, nine percent and four percent respectively in 2022.
European furniture manufacturers were forced to revise their In 2023, imports fell a further five percent, exports were

list prices upwards during the year. down 17 percent, and internal EU trade declined 12 percent.
Furniture sector performance has varied widely between The total quantity of EU27+UK imports of wood furniture
European countries in recent times. Eurostat data shows that from outside the region fell five percent to 2.28 million tonnes
while overall EU27 furniture production in 2023 was close in 2023. This followed an 18 percent fall the previous year.
to the level prevailing in 2015, some countries including The decline in imports in 2023 was less dramatic than
Romania, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, forecast by ITTO in October, primarily due to a revival in
and France, had fallen well below that level. imports from China after the Covid-19 lockdowns in that

Most of these countries recorded only a modest rebound in country ended and as freight rates fell quickly last year.
furniture production in 2021 followed by a dramatic downturn This meant that Chinese goods could again be shipped
from the second half of 2022 onwards. into the European market at competitive prices, just at a time
In contrast, furniture production in Poland and Lithuania when prices for goods manufactured in Europe were rising.
continued strong even during the first year of the pandemic In 2023, wood furniture imports into the EU27+UK from
in 2020 and increased very rapidly during 2021 and 2022. China increased by six percent to 1.25 million tonnes, still
Although there was a sharp downturn in 2023, production well down on the peak level of 1.51 million tonnes in 2021,
in Poland and Lithuania remained well above the pre-pandemic but above the pre-pandemic level.
level. Furniture production in Spain, Italy, and Portugal was European wood furniture imports from non-tropical countries

less volatile than in other European countries during the 2019 other than China fell nine percent last year to 600,000 tonnes,
to 2023 period and remained well above the pre-pandemic following a 19 percent decline the previous year.
level despite sliding last year. Imports from Turkey, Ukraine, and Serbia all recovered
The European furniture industry is highly integrated from some ground last year but not enough to offset the decline in
both a market and an industrial perspective with most furniture imports from Belarus—now subject to European sanctions—
components (such as wood and wood-based panels) being and falling imports from Bosnia, Switzerland, and the US.
sourced from European countries. Almost 80 percent of EU27+UK imports of wood furniture from tropical countries

furniture consumption is met by European production. fell 23 percent last year to 430,000 tonnes, following a nine
However, imports from Asian countries, particularly China, percent decline in 2022 from the peak levels of 2021. European