In the first half, the value of Austrian furniture exports increased by 20.5% to €676.6m. According to figures published by the Austrian furniture industry division within the Association of the Austrian Wood Industries, exports to Germany - which, accounting for a 43% proportion of total exports, remains the most important export market - rose by 14.6% to €291.9m. Even more significant increases were recorded for the two next-ranked countries, Switzerland (+21.6% to €80.8m) and Poland (+30.6% to €40.9m). Together, these two countries account for around 18% of total exports. Exports to Italy (+24.9% to €27.7m), Hungary (+46.0% to €23.0m), France (+20.2% to €21.5m) and the Czech Republic (+80.1% to €20.3m) also exceeded the respective levels of the preceding year by rates well into the double-digit percentage range. Furniture exports to the USA, the largest non-European purchasing country, increased by 28.3% to a value of €10.7m.
Regarding individual product groups, exports increased in each case. The most significant increases were recorded in the case of garden furniture (+88.6% to €3.3m), shop furniture (+43.7% to €11.3m) and living room furniture (+42.7% to €179.2m). Increases in the upholstered furniture (+9.0% to €126.4m) and kitchen furniture (+7.8% to €39.2m) product groups remained in the single-digit range.
