GERMANY - In 2016 more furniture from Germany was shipped to foreign markets than ever before. Compared to the previous year, German furniture exports rose by 1.3 percent to EUR 10.4 billion in 2016.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Association of the German Furniture Industry, Dirk-Uwe Klaas, sees this as a particular success for the industry: "This shows the high international appreciation for the products of German furniture manufacturers. In particular in the European markets, the demand for furniture 'Made in Germany' rose sharply last year. In this way, we were able to sell to the Netherlands 8.6 percent, to the Czech Republic 13.7 percent and to Spain 5.8 percent more, "Klaas said.

The main buyer countries for German furniture remain France with an export volume of 1.3 billion euros (+2.2 percent compared to the previous year), Switzerland with 1.2 billion euros (-0.2 percent) and Austria 1.0 billion (+1.5 percent). Exports to Great Britain, Belgium, Poland, Italy and Denmark developed favorably. At the same time, exports declined to important foreign markets such as the USA, China and Russia. The industry is particularly worried about the increase in protectionist tendencies around the world, which is likely to have a negative effect on exports to countries outside the EU.