BRAZIL – After falling by 2.2% last year, the first quarter of 2017 showed a growth of 12.7% in exports of the furniture industry cluster of Bento Gonçalves, a municipality of the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

According to the data collected by the Foreign Trade Department of MDIC, this performance by the Bento Gonçalves cluster was better than that of the state’s (3.9%) and Brazil’s (6%), particularly in the markets of: Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Panama, the United States, Angola, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, India, Guatemala and United Arab Emirates.

Sindmóveis’ director of International Affairs, Leonardo Dartora, points out that although the results are preliminary, they indicate a beginning of recovery in important markets, such as in Latin America. Sindmóveis works to boost the competitiveness of companies by developing international promotion actions and market studies through its International Committee. “The association is happy with the data, but there is a long way to go before we reach 2010 and 2011 figures, of approximately USD 60 million a year, and those of the financial pre-crisis in 2008/2009, when the Bento Gonçalves furniture cluster exported more than USD 80 million annually”, explained Dartora.