In the first quarter, the value of French furniture exports rose by 20% to €729.7m. According to Eurostat, €418.5m of this figure was attributable to EU countries (+19%) and €311.1m (254.8m) to non-EU countries (+22%). Within the EU, deliveries to Germany - the most important sales market - increased by 10% to €116.9m. Thus, the positive development observed over the entire period of 2021 continued; in 2021, Eurostat had reported growth of 8% concerning exports to Germany. Increases in the double-digit percentage range were also recorded concerning exports to Spain (+31% to €64.3m), Belgium (+12% to €62.0m) and Italy (+46% to €52.3m) in the first quarter. Outside the EU, especially strong growth was recorded in the case of deliveries to Switzerland (+29% to €69.4m) and Great Britain (+26% to €62.9m).
French furniture imports rose by 16% to €2.707bn in the first quarter. In this connection, an over-proportional increase was recorded concerning imports from China (+47% to €661.4m). A similar growth rate had already been recorded for 2021 as a whole. Deliveries from Germany (+11% to €358.7m) and Belgium (+17% to €165.1m) each also increased at a double-digit rate.
