.Analysis on Current Status of China’s Home Furniture Exports

Furniture Industry Overview

There are currently about 50,000 furniture enterprises in China, which employ an army of more than 5 million workers. In 2007, the output value totaled at RMB 540 billion. China has now become the world’s largest furniture exporter which sells furniture products to over 200 countries and regions. The US is still the number one importer of China’s furniture products, with EU, Hong Kong, and Japan trailing behind.

Main Export Methods of Furniture Industry

In 2007, the total revenue of general trade exports reached USD 14.651 billion, accounting for 62.97% of the total, a year-on-year increase of 52.16%; processing trade with imported materials generated a total export revenue of USD 7.392 billion, about 31.77% of the total, up 11.6% over the previous year. What’s especially worth noting is bonded warehousing re-export trade which went up an impressive 251.41% over a year before; and processing trade with customer's materials had experienced a negative growth.

The Structure of Export-oriented Enterprises in Furniture Industry

In 2007, the total export revenue of private enterprises was USD 6.678 billion, or 28.7% of the total, up 56.94%, the steepest growth ever recorded in the history. Foreign-funded enterprises generated a total export revenue of USD 13.359 billion, accounting for 57.4%, up 29.6%. State-owned enterprises held 3rd place in terms of growth rate, which made an export revenue of USD 2.724 billion, taking up 11.71%, up 21.82%. Export revenue by collectively-owned enterprise was USD 507 million or 2.18% of the total, a year-on-year increase of 18.83%. Private enterprises lagged behind foreign-funded enterprises in terms of total export revenue, but had a bigger growth rate. The development prospect is encouraging.

Historical Export Revenue of Home Furniture Industry

China’s home furniture export has increased very rapidly. In 2007, the total export revenue was USD 11.41 billion, up 33% compared to that of 2006 which stood at USD 8.567 billion. From 2003 to 2007, the average annual growth rate reached 33.25%. The prospect of China’s home furniture in overseas market is great.