The growth was driven by imports from the EU.  These were up in value 48.9% to nearly £3.2 billion.  By contrast imports of non-EU furniture fell by 3.8% to stand at close to £4.2 billion, and may be a result of shipping supply issues and high container freight prices.

The biggest value increase in imports was from EU kitchen furniture which was up 87.8% to reach £203 million.

Exports grew too and these were up across the board by 15.5%, with similar increases for both EU and non-EU destinations, but at – 21.7% were well below pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

Seats saw the largest export growth with wooden framed upholstered seats rising by 43.1% to £69 million and other seats by 50.4% to over £128 million.

The sectors covered in the BFM report: Upholstery (wooden framed); Other finished seats & chairs, Wooden office & shop, Wooden kitchen, Wooden bedroom, Wooden Dining room/Living and Mattresses and mattress supports.  The individual performance of each country in terms of value is also shown in the data, exclusively commissioned by BFM.

The sector analysis may be found here.