GERMANY - In the first half of 2015 the increase in foreign business of the german kitchen furniture industry came up to +9.92%, while domestic sales were up by 2.03%, according to a report compiled by the Association of the German Kitchen Furniture Industry (VdDK). 

German kitchen furniture exports reached EUR 836.4m in the first half of 2015 and represented 37% of industry sales in the period. Overall the German kitchen furniture industry generated EUR 2,253 milion. As VdDK underlines, the reason for the positive development is that almost all major export markets have seen positive dynamics. The ten main export markets of the German kitchen furniture industry all have been consistently in the black. Three of them experienced a double-digit growth: France +10.0%, the Netherlands  +17.4% and in Switzerland +14.7%. A significant increase in exports of German furniture was realized outside the euro zone. Thus, supplies to United Kingdom grew by 14.7% and to China by 24.9%. 

While German exports are on the rise, the import share for kitchen furniture is below 3%.Thus, in H1/2015, the German kitchen furniture industry had a trade surplus of nearly 800 million euros, and is expected to pass 1.5 billion euros by year-end. The foreign trade surplus of the German kitchen industry rose by 10.13% compared to first half 2014.