COLOMBIA – In 2019 Colombia exported wooden furniture for USD 36.97 million, which translates to a growth of 7.3 percent compared to the previous year, when exports of wooden furniture reached USD 34.4 million.

This growth in wood furniture exports stands out when it is taken into account that in 2019 total Colombian exports fell by 5.7 percent.

With this sustained positioning of Colombian wood furniture in external markets , the leading Colombian exporter in 2019 was again RTA Muebles. With a 23.6 percent market share of total exports this manufacturer from Valle del Cauca reached USD 8.7 million overseas sales, an 8.3 percent drop in its exports compared to 2018 (USD 9.5 million).

Muebles Jamar came in second place with a 16.6 percent market share of Colombia’s total wooden furniture exports. Founded in 1951, Jamar sells home furnishings through its own retail chain which has had a strong presence in Colombia and since a few years back neighboring Panama, where it currently operates six stores. In 2019, this retailer headquartered in Barranquilla exported from its modern distribution center wooden furniture for USD 5.9 million, growth of 48.7 percent in the period.

Accordingly, Panama was the main destination for Colombian wood furniture exports in 2019. The segment’s shipments to the neighboring country totaled USD 10.19 million, an increase of 13.4 percent against 2018.

The United States, with a remarkable growth of 42.0 percent that reached USD 8.55 million (2018: USD 6.02 million) remained the second largest external market for Colombian wood furniture. Mexico was the third largest market in 2019 with USD 4.2 million.

An external market that is beginning to gain importance for Colombian wood furniture is Guatemala, where shipments increased from USD 865 thousand in 2018 to USD 1.6 million in 2019, the largest growing external market (+85.7 percent) in 2019.