Brazil’s Furniture Industry Revises 2008 Growth Projection from 5% to 2.5%

Companies from Brazil that took part in the Index, the leading trade fair for furniture and decoration in the United Arab Emirates, held in Dubai last month, should close deals totaling US$ 6 million up until the first half of 2009.

This is the expectation of the Brazilian Furniture Industry Association (Abimóvel), which, in partnership with the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brazil), took 36 companies to the event.

The Brazilian stand, occupying an area of 1,264 square meters, counted on the participation of companies in five different segments: high-end decoration, kitchens, padded items, furniture and decoration items. According to the Abimóvel, the Brazilian businessmen made excellent business contacts.

In a release issued by the organization, the president at Abimóvel, José Luiz Diaz Fernandez, stated that the institutional and commercial work yielded results by means of the strategy defined in partnership with the Apex and due to the products being presented in a segmented manner at international events.

From January to November, Brazilian furniture exports to the Arab market totaled US$ 11.5 million, representing growth of 26.4% compared with the same period of last year. According to information supplied by the Market Development department at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, the Arab market went from the 19th destination for Brazilian sector exports, in 2007, to the 15th position in 2008.

Algeria was the leading Arab destination for Brazilian foreign sales of furniture, with imports of US$ 4.5 million from January to November, growth of 150% in comparison with the same period of last year. The United Arab Emirates rank second, with imports of US$ 4.2 million, followed by Saudi Arabia, with US$ 500,000.

According to the Market Development manager at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Rodrigo Solano, Brazilian companies must innovate in order to be able to export to the Arab market, especially the Gulf countries, which seek furniture to decorate hotels and luxury buildings. "It is important to be aware of European and Chinese competition, which is gaining market share with each year," he stated.

The Brazilian furniture industry has revised its projection of growth in exports in 2008 down from 5% to 2.5% compared with last year, when foreign sales totaled US$ 1.1 billion. In order to promote sales next year, the Abimóvel is going to promote the Abimóvel Salon 2009, to be held from August 17 to 21, in the Anhembi Exhibition Pavilion, in the city of São Paulo.

Anba

Tags:

You May Also Like

New York Gets to See Documentary on Brazil’s Black Rebel Slaves Villages from 1600s

Quilombo Country, the award-winning documentary about Brazilian villages founded by escaped and rebel slaves, ...

Pointers for a Better Brazilian Press

I can’t leave out of our "ideal agenda" the issue of a body patterned ...

Surplus Keeps Raising for Brazil’s Trade Balance

In the second week of February (7-13), Brazil’s trade balance produced a surplus of ...

Brazil Leads Creation of South American NATO. US Counter Attacks

Member states of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) signed a pact on ...

Brazil’s US$ 1 Bi, 700-Mile Ethanol Pipeline in Service in 2009

Brazilian government controlled oil multinational Petrobras president José Sérgio Gabrielli announced that his company ...

WTO Panel Rules Against US on a Case of Brazilian Orange Juice

A dispute settlement panel from the World Trade Organization has ruled that the United ...

Pirelli Spends Over US$ 50 Million on New Brazilian Unit

Italy-based tire company Pirelli inaugurated Wednesday, March 22, the expansion of the company industrial ...

Brazilian sugarcane cutter

BSN Urges that Biofuel Not Be Used in Brazil to Perpetuate Slave Work

The Brazil Strategy Network's coordinating committee adopted a resolution related to the recently signed ...

Brazil Says Child Sex Is Serious Matter. Crime Involves Authorities and Elites.

Sexual exploitation of children continues to be a serious problem in Brazil, "reaching worrisome ...

Brazil’s Lula Calls Morales Candidacy in Bolivia, Extraordinary Event

Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Argentina’s Nestor Kirchner praised Wednesday, November 30, ...