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The impact of the new crown epidemic on the global supply chain has been two years, and in these two years, many industries around the world have been severely hit by the impact of the epidemic and even on the verge of bankruptcy. However, the real estate and furniture industries in many European and American countries are generally regarded by the market as the winners in this crisis.

When the travel time that was once arranged is now affected by the epidemic and turned into staying at home, many people will start to think about how to decorate their homes more warmly, and the longer time they work at home, they start to think about how to make themselves more comfortable to sit. Many people will choose to buy furniture and invest in real estate to prepare for the future.

This is also true in Germany in the epidemic. According to the German media "Süddeutsche Zeitung", citing data from the German Furniture Industry Association (VDM), in the first six months of this year, German furniture imports increased by 23%, of which China’s furniture exports to Germany increased by 45%, reaching a level of 1.5 billion euros. Poland has become by far the most important country of origin for furniture in Germany.

At present, almost one-third of the furniture products imported by Germany come from China. Another 27% of imported products are made in Poland.

There are three main reasons for the current situation:

1. Although the sales of the German furniture industry reached 8.4 billion euros in the first half of this year, an increase of 4.3% year-on-year, Germany’s lifting of the blockade was later than most countries in the EU, so this growth level was due to a 10% increase in EU exports. In fact, Germany Only 1.5%, mainly due to the second blockade in Germany.

According to VDM estimates, the German furniture industry will not reach the pre-crisis level until the middle of 2023. This year, the industry expects sales to only reach the level of the first year of the crisis.

2. As Germany has been locked down for a long time, the German people need to buy desks, office chairs or shelves for home offices quickly, but they can only use the Internet and care about quality and low prices, so Chinese products are favored.

According to data from the German e-commerce association bevh, in the second quarter alone, sales of furniture, lamps and decorations on the Internet increased by 27.4%. The increase in office supplies was 22.9%.

3. The main reason. On the one hand, in 2019 before the epidemic, China ranked first with a furniture output value of US$180.9 billion, becoming the main force of furniture production in the Asia-Pacific region. Thanks to China's high-quality development of the furniture industry, among the top ten countries for furniture export in 2019, China still leads and ranks first, accounting for about 35% of the world's total exports.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs, my country's furniture exports in 2020 amounted to US$58.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 11.8%.

The overseas furniture manufacturing industry has been affected by the epidemic, and production and supply have been severely affected. In contrast, China has been well under control of the epidemic. Chinese companies have taken the lead in resuming work and production. The integrity and stability of the industrial chain have highlighted their advantages, and they have gradually taken orders from Europe, the United States and Japan.

From January to July 2021, the cumulative export value of Chinese furniture and parts reached US$40.926 billion, a year-on-year increase of 47.20%.