According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, the total value of exported wooden, metal, plastic, stone and glass furniture in China accounted for USD24.34 billion in 2007, up 35.1% from 2006. The total value of exports amounted to USD23.27 billion, increasing
34.95% from 2006; the import value was USD1.07 billion, up 37.75%. The main factors driving China’s furniture exports were:
1) Stable growth of different types of furniture: The
main exported furniture products were metal
framed seats, wooden framed seats, as well as
metal and wooden furniture. The export value of
these furniture types amounted to USD10.83
billion, representing 46.5% of total exports.
2) Unit prices increased considerably: Compared
with 2006, unit prices in 2007 rose 114%, with
unit prices for some types of seats growing nearly
1,000 times.
3) The U.S. remained the largest export destination:
In terms of value, China exported about USD10
billion of various types of furniture to the US in
2007, up 26.7% from the year before, accounting
for 43% of China’s total export value. Other
important markets were the UK, which accounted
for USD 1.52 billion or 6.5% of China’s total
export value; Japan with USD1.46 billion (6.3%);
Hong Kong S.A.R., USD1.18 billion (5.1%); and
Canada, USD846 million (3.7%). Over 80% of
furniture exported to the EU was sent to the UK,
Germany, France, Netherlands, Spain, Italy and
Belgium.
4) Guangdong Province ranked first in furniture
exports: In terms of value, Guangdong exported USD9.3 billion in 2007, representing about 40%
of the nation’s total, up 33.8% over the last year.
After Guangdong, Zhejiang exported USD4.49
billion, growing 45.8% in 2007. Shanghai was
the third largest exporter with USD2.59 billion in
2007, up 51.8% from 2006. Following Shanghai,
Jiangsu and Fujian provinces exported USD1.9
billion and 1.35 billion, up 35.4% and 21.9%
respectively.
5) Private enterprises’ share of exports further
increased: Furniture exports by private
enterprises grew dramatically in 2007, up 56.9%
from 2007 and accounting for 28.3% of total
exports from China. Joint ventures exported
USD13.36 billion worth of furniture in 2007, up
29.6% from 2006, accounting for 57.4% of the
nation’s total. State-owned enterprises ranked
third, exporting USD2.72 billion worth of
furniture, 21.8% more than the year before.
Collective-owned enterprises also exported
USD508 million of furniture, up 18.8% over
2006 levels and accounting for 2.2% of China’s
total exports. |