The latest Eurostat and UK trade data shows that European exports of wooden furniture to countries outside the region, after falling rapidly in 2022, remained flat throughout 2023 and 2024. However, European imports of wooden furniture from other parts of the world began to increase in the second half of 2023, a trend which continued throughout 2024.

In fact, imports from outside the region last year were close to those at the height of the boom in 2021 and 2022. Internal European trade in wooden furniture, which was slowing in 2023 and the opening months of 2024, also began to rise in the second half of last year.

China drives rise in European furniture imports in 2024 Closer analysis of the data reveals that the recent growth in wooden furniture imports into the EU27+UK has been driven almost entirely by China. Imports into Europe from China increased by 5% to 1.26 million tonnes in 2023 and were up by more than 35% to 1.53 million tonnes in the January to November period last year.

In contrast imports from tropical countries fell by 23% to 430,000 tonnes in 2023 and were up only 6% in the January to November period last year. Imports from all other countries (mainly non-EU European countries and Turkey) decreased 8% to 590,000 tonnes in 2023 and increased by 6% to 570,000 tonnes in the January to November period last year.

Wooden furniture imports from China have increased both into the UK, the largest single wooden furniture importing country in Europe, and into the EU. UK imports from China increased 13% to 417,000 tonnes in 2023 and were up another 16% to 445,000 tonnes in the January to November period last year. EU imports from China were up only 3% in 2023 to 833,000 tonnes but increased 44% to 1,090,000 tonnes in the January to November period last year.

Imports of wooden furniture from China increased very sharply into all the main EU markets last year including France (+35% to 236,000 tonnes), the Netherlands (+65% to 202,000 tonnes), Germany (+34% to 192,000 tonnes), Spain (+46% to 82,000 tonnes), Belgium (+65% to 71,000 tonnes), Italy (+28% to 59,000 tonnes), and Poland (+40% to 57,000 tonnes).

The rise in Chinese wooden furniture imports into European countries in 2023 and 2024 is partly explained by the fact that it followed a big decline in 2022 when Chinese exports were seriously impacted by rigorous lockdowns during the pandemic. And while high production costs are impeding the international competitiveness of European furniture products, the competitiveness of Chinese products is benefiting from continual improvements in technical performance, manufacturing efficiency, quality management, and from increasing investment in advertising and marketing.

The accelerating pace of imports from China during 2024, at a time when underlying European consumption was slow, may also be related to EUDR as European importers were building stock before enforcement of that law was expected to begin on 30 December 2024.

The EU has now delayed the date of EUDR application until 30 December 2025 but that decision was only confirmed at the very end of last year. The full impact of EUDR on EU imports of composite products like furniture remains to be seen but is likely to be very significant given the challenges of meeting the far-reaching traceability requirements.