Malaysia has solidified its position as the world’s eighth-largest wooden furniture exporter, recording a 21% surge in exports to Europe.
According to the latest data from the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), EU27 and the UK imported 80,000 tons of tropical wooden furniture from Malaysia in the first 11 months of 2024, marking a 21% year-on-year increase. Malaysia remains the second-largest supplier of tropical wooden furniture to Europe, trailing only Vietnam, whose exports rose by 9% to 148,000 tons.
The European market saw a strong rebound in imports from key tropical suppliers in 2024. India’s exports to Europe grew by 11% to 75,000 tons, while imports from Indonesia, Brazil, Thailand, and Singapore declined by 8%, 5%, 28%, and 30%, respectively, to 63,000 tons, 43,000 tons, 4,000 tons, and 2,000 tons.
Among the major European importing countries, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, and Poland all experienced moderate growth, with increases of 3% (131,000 tons), 5% (69,500 tons), 13% (54,400 tons), 17% (30,900 tons), 5% (22,100 tons), 4% (10,200 tons), and 1% (8,200 tons), respectively. Italy was the only major market to see a 2% decline, dropping to 8,300 tons.
Meanwhile, China’s wooden furniture exports to Europe soared by over 35% in 2024, climbing from 12.6 million tons in 2023 to 15.3 million tons. In contrast, total European imports from tropical countries increased by only 6% to 430,000 tons. The ITTO report suggests that this surge in Chinese exports may be driven by European importers stockpiling ahead of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), originally set to take effect on December 30, 2024, but now postponed to December 30, 2025.
In the first ten months of 2024, Malaysia’s wooden furniture exports totaled $1.38 billion, reflecting a 7.9% year-on-year increase. Malaysia remains the eighth-largest wooden furniture exporter globally, with China leading at $11.25 billion (+15.7%), followed by Vietnam at $9.03 billion (+19%).
As a key global market, Europe accounts for over 25% of the world’s furniture industry, with an estimated $115 billion market size. In the first ten months of 2024, the EU’s extra-regional furniture imports rose by 18% to $5.65 billion, with China, Vietnam, and Malaysia emerging as the primary beneficiaries of the global trade recovery.
Sourced from Our China Media Partner 77° Global Furnishings Media.
