BRAZIL - The Brazilian Association of Furniture Industries (ABIMOVEL) disclosed the main indicators, data and percentages of the furniture market in Brazil and the furniture industry in Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná referring to the months of December 2018 and January 2019.

In the furniture market in Brazil, sales of furniture in the retail trade advanced 7.3% in December 2018 compared to the previous month. In the month of December, the average price of furniture in the retail trade was BRL 209.49 per piece. In January 2019, the average price reached BRL 209.74, with a slight increase of 0.12% in relation to the previous month.

Volume production in the Brazilian furniture industry was 33.5 million pieces in December, down 20.4% from the previous month. During the year, production fell by 0.3% compared to the previous year.

Imports reached USD 14.5 million in December 2018, a drop of 23.0% compared to the previous month. In January 2019, imports reached USD 19.4 million, an increase of 33.6% compared to the previous month.

The panorama of the furniture industry in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) showed a drop of 27.2% in the month of December and a growth of 8.6% in the year where internal consumption was 6.1 million pieces in December. In December, RS exports totaled 19.2 million dollars.

The furniture industry in Paraná showed a drop of 19.0% in December in the production of furniture volumes compared to the month of November. In Parana imports fell 10.0% in December compared to the previous month, registering the value of USD 779 thousand.