According to ITTO, the EU has maintained a trade surplus in wood furniture since 2011 when exports to non-EU countries overtook imports from outside the EU. This surplus remained broadly flat between the start of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016 (averaging close to euro3 billion per annum), as both imports and exports were stable.
However, the trade surplus narrowed sharply in the second and third quarters of 2017 (to around euro2.6 billion per annum) as imports began to pick up.
The narrowing of the EU trade surplus is an encouraging sign for external suppliers of wood furniture into the EU that have struggled to compete in a market where domestic suppliers account for around 85 percent of total share.
