COLOMBIA –  In the first five months of 2020 (5M-2020) Colombia exported wooden furniture for USD 11.02 million, a sharp  drop  of 33.9%% compared to the same period of the previous year.

In the same time lapse RTA Muebles– the country's largest RTA furniture manufacturer – recorded a 33.5% growth in its exports. Still, the biggest growth in exports was for Moduart, a manufacturer of RTA furniture and kitchens with strong export tradition, that achieved a surprising growth of 69.5%.

RTA Muebles from its factory headquarters in Palmira, Valle del Cauca, achieved a 39.8 percent share of Colombia's exports of wooden furniture dispatching furniture abroad for USD 4.38 million. In 5M-2020 its main external market was Chile, with exports above USD 1.4 million, followed by the United States, with growth of 1,715.2% in the period and dispatches above USD 700 thousand.

Despite a sharp drop of 61.6 percent, Muebles Jamar was second among the main exporting companies, and a 10.8 % share of total shipments of wooden furniture from Colombia. In 5M-2020, this Barranquilla-based retailer exported wooden furniture for USD 1.1 million (5M-2019: USD 3.09 million).

In 5M-2020 the United States overtook Panama and became the main destination for Colombian wooden furniture exports. Segment shipments to the U.S. totaled USD 3.67 million, a slight drop of 1.0 percent compared to 5M-2020 (USD 3.71 million).

Exports to Panama, the second export market, with a sharp decrease of 59.7 percent, reached USD 1.84 in 5M-2020 (5M-2019: USD 4.57 million). Ecuador was the third external market in the period for Colombian wooden furniture, with USD 703 thousand, a fall of 10.9 percent in the period compared to 5M-2019 (USD 789 thousand).