Furniture exports to exceed two billion euros again in 2024
France is the home sector's main market, with a 32% share, but it was Switzerland that stood out the most with a significant increase in exports.
Portuguese furniture exports fell by 4%, but will once again exceed 2.1 billion euros in 2024, reaching this milestone for the second consecutive year, according to data from the Portuguese Furniture and Related Industries Association (APIMA).
At the top of the list of best destinations for Portuguese furniture — a cluster that includes industries such as furniture, bedding, home textiles, cutlery, ceramics, lighting and tapestries — are France (with a 32% share), Spain (26%) and Germany (7%). Sales to the USA and the UK are gaining ground, accounting for 6% and 5% respectively of this sector’s exports in 2024.
However, one of the main highlights of the year was the Swiss market, which recorded a 21.95% increase in exports compared to the same period last year, while the Netherlands showed a slight improvement of 2%.
Despite the indicators, the Portuguese Furniture and Related Industries Association points out that “throughout the challenging year of 2024, the sector showed an uneven behaviour in the main international markets, with an overall evolution of 4% less than the previous year, mainly reflecting the slowdown in inflation”.
Although furniture exceeded the two billion mark in exports for the second time last year, the cluster is concerned about the national and international situation.
“The year 2024 confirmed our expectations of enormous instability and unpredictability”, says the president of APIMA. “Inflation, constraints in the international logistics chain and a generalised slowdown in consumption had a significant impact on our companies’ operations”, said Joaquim Carneiro, quoted in a statement.
The association’s leader concludes that “international promotion anchored in trade fairs, with particular emphasis on emerging markets, has been fundamental in leveraging new opportunities”.
