Furniture, Paper and Forest Products Exports Reach $4.47 Billion

Ahmet Güleç, Chairman of the Istanbul Furniture, Paper and Forest Products Exporters Association, announced that furniture, paper and forest products exports reached USD 4.47 billion in the first ten months of 2020. Furniture accounted for USD 2.76 billion of total exports, while according to data, furniture sales to EU countries reached USD 925 million, up 3.8% compared to the same period of the previous year. To neighboring and nearby countries such as Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Ukraine, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Egypt, Georgia, Russia and Syria, we exported USD 765.4 million worth of furniture. The furniture, paper and forest products sector achieved exports of USD 4.475 billion in the first ten months of 2020. Furniture accounted for USD 2.76 billion of this figure, while the sector carried forward the strong growth that began in June through October, sending strong signals for November and December exports. Commenting on the matter, Istanbul Furniture, Paper and Forest Products Exporters Association Chairman Ahmet Güleç stated, "With 36,000 furniture manufacturers, of which 15,000 are exporters, we are a very strong sector based on production and design. We have a production capacity of USD 12 billion and export 35% of our production. We have always been an export surplus sector. This did not change during the pandemic. [caption id="attachment_110796" align="aligncenter"] Ahmet Güleç[/caption] The stagnation we experienced in both the domestic and export markets in March, April and May was overcome with strong recovery starting in June, and we reached the targets we set at the beginning of the year. Looking at it on a monthly basis, our furniture exports in June grew 48% compared to the same month of the previous year. In July 11.75%, in August 1.7%, in September 13.34% and in October the monthly growth rate exceeded 12%. We are the world's 8th largest exporter, and we want to continue increasing our high value-added and design-focused furniture production, raising our share of the global furniture market from 1.5% to 2.5%," he said.

We grew 3.8% in EU countries over ten months, sold USD 925 million worth of furniture

Noting that the furniture, paper and forest products sector recorded significant increases in the EU market, as well as the US and China markets during this period, Ahmet Güleç stated that the sector's top 5 markets are Iraq, Germany, Saudi Arabia, America and Israel. Güleç noted: "Our total exports to European Union countries reached USD 925 million. We see that we increased our exports by 3.8% compared to the same period of the previous year. We can say that our market share particularly stands out with increases in Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Romania."

Exports to neighboring countries reached USD 765 million

Providing information about our furniture exports to neighboring countries, Güleç noted that exports to Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Ukraine, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Egypt, Georgia, Russian Federation and Syria totaled USD 765.4 million over ten months. Noting that they continue to grow in the US market, with an annual average of USD 40 billion as the world's largest furniture importer, and in the China market with USD 53 billion as the world's largest furniture exporter, Güleç stated, "Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, our exports to the American market increased 6% in 8 months. In the short term, we aim to increase our exports to the US to USD 3 billion. The establishment of logistics centers in the US is therefore extremely important. Although we experienced calendar delays due to the pandemic in our work on this matter, we will be completed soon. Meanwhile, our market deepening efforts in China continue. In June and July alone, our exports to China showed 150% growth. In 2002, the Turkish furniture sector started a great story by being the world's largest, and in 2020 the conditions for an even bigger story were created. 2021 will be very critical in this regard," he said.