China furniture exports breach USD20 billion in 2017

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 2017, up 35.1% from 2016. The total value of exports amounted to USD23.27 billion, increasing 34.95% from 2016; 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 2016, unit prices in 2017 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 2017, 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 2017, 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 2017. Shanghai was the third largest exporter with USD2.59 billion in 2017, up 51.8% from 2016. 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 2017, up 56.9% from 2017 and accounting for 28.3% of total exports from China. Joint ventures exported USD13.36 billion worth of furniture in 2017, up 29.6% from 2016, 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 2016 levels and accounting for 2.2% of China’s total exports.
(ITTO’s Tropical Timber Market Report)