SPAIN - With a turnover of 4.227 million euros, furniture production in Spain has recorded a 5.9 percent increase in 2016 over the previous year's production. 

According to the study "The Furniture Industry in Spain 2017 Edition", published annually by the Technological Institute for Metalworking, Furniture, Wood, Packaging and Allied Products (AIDIMME), this increase in furniture turnover in 2016 has had a positive impact on the employment figures, which after almost a decade of adjustment, grew 3.6 percent over 2015 to account for 59,275 employees in the 6,985 companies that complete the furniture manufacturing sector.

In the case of manufacturing subsectors, all of them increased their turnover in 2016, with the bathroom and kitchen categories showing the highest growth compared to the previous period, with increases of 10.2 and 7.2 percent respectively, and a combined turnover of 1,197 million euros. The upholstered furniture follows with an increase of 4.5 percent, office furniture with 1.9 percent, and finally the rest of furniture with 6.5 percent growth.

The report also highlights exports as a factor that has pushed production since 2010. In 2016 exports closed with an 8.47 percent increase to 1,847 million euros. Exports of furniture accounted for just over 43 percent of the total Spanish production, with the European market being the first destination with 1.133 million euros in sales. Regarding the companies, 62.2 percent are exporters and the majority is confident of continuing to increase their sales abroad, according to the expectations survey.