Italy: Wood and furniture sector developed well in the first quarter of 2017

Source:
IE24/Fordaq
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The Italian wood and furniture sector has flourished during 2017, when more than 79,000 companies spread out across the whole country, providing work for 320,000 people.

In 2016, the sector generated revenues of about €41 billion, up 2.2% compared to 2015, according to a report from industry association FederlegnoArredo (FLA).

The wood and furniture sector overcame the economic crisis thank to robust exports, which showed an increase during the first quarter of 2017. The Italian sector’s sales abroad increased 5% in January-March compared to the same period of 2016. It is interesting to note that the increase in exports of the whole sector is higher than that of just the furniture segment, where exports were up 4.2%.

As reported by Italy Europe 24, the recovery in Russia was significant (even though the confirmation of sanctions could change the scenario again), alongside the consolidation of markets in China, the US, and France, the top end market for Italian products.

More than 70% of companies in the sector invested in research and development in 2016, setting aside on average 1.3% of turnover for this. It is also thanks to these investments that today it is starting to hire again:

The recovery of the Italian wood and furniture sector consolidated in 2016 and continued through the Q1/2017. The main reason is the boost provided by the furniture bonus, a tax incentive introduced in June 2013 that, according to estimates, had generated €4.3 billion of revenues at end 2016.

Difficulties have come above all from the construction sector, which today is registering some signs of recovery, after the collapse over the past 10 years.

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