28 March 2024, 15:17
By Furniture News Jul 26, 2018

Furniture exports rising, says BFM

According to a review of the UK's manufacturing performance in 2017 by the British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM) association, exports from traditional furniture sectors has improved by +18% since 2016.

However, at the same time, 60% of all furniture in the UK is imported, with 45% of goods from more traditional furniture sectors manufactured abroad.

British manufacturers now make just 6% of the wooden dining and living room furniture sold in the UK, but more than 80% of the wooden furniture for offices, shops and kitchens, together with mattress supports and spring mattresses, is made in the UK. 

The value of UK home-produced upholstered seats fell by -7.8% to under £1b, with importers gaining +3% more of the UK market.

Jackie Bazeley, BFM MD, says: "Our review revealed some very interesting findings. While we saw an increase in exports we also saw that in several sectors the home market was still dominated by UK manufacturers."

The report, available to BFM members only, looks at key topics such as how the market has changed over the last full calendar year, the value of UK-manufactured sales and imports and exports, and the size of the UK market. It also analyses the percentage of the UK market attributable to UK products and the unit price of UK-produced items.

© 2013 - 2024 Gearing Media Group Ltd. All Rights Reserved.