In the first seven months of 2009, the value of furniture exports through the northern port of Manzhouli to Russia rose 14% to US$1.947 million and analysts say there is scope for further increases.
Furniture exporters in this northern area are mainly from Jiangsu Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. In the first seven months of 2009, the value of Jiangsu’s furniture exports rose 20 percent to US$959 000, accounting for 49% of trade through the port. The value of furniture exports by Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region’s enterprises grew almost 5 times and represented about 30% of the cargo through the port.
According to local experts, Russian furniture production is rather small and the country depends on imports. The Russian market for furniture has been estimated at around US$2 billion annually and imports account for some US$750 million.
