Impact of Association Agreement with the EU on the furniture industry
The demand for Ukrainian goods began to grow in the last years, especially after signing the Association Agreement with the EU, which opened the European markets for Ukrainian products. The signing of an agreement with the EU can be said as a serious challenge stimulating the development of the furniture industry in Ukraine.
On the one hand, the prices for Ukrainian furniture should be preferable for foreign buyers. On the other hand, strengthening the confrontation with the world furniture giants will allow only powerful companies to survive.
Weak players risk being swallowed up by the world's largest giants, but those that have withstood the competition are rewarded with new sales markets across Europe.
Ukrainian Association of furniture
The Ukrainian Furniture Association is making every effort to reorient demand for domestic production and improve the prospects for the Ukrainian market. The strategic goal of the Ukrainian Association of furniture manufacturers is to increase the volume of furniture sales in Ukraine and abroad. For the development of the furniture industry, training events for the Ukrainian Association of furniture are held monthly. Participants can find out about opportunities for cooperation with government organizations, Ukrainian and international public associations and donors. Thanks to the support of donor organizations, representatives of the Ukrainian furniture industry can participate in trade and scout missions.
According to experts, there are on average about 5 thousand furniture manufacturers on the domestic market. These are large invest.com/investing-in-ukraine/starting-business-in-ukraine/build-an-enterprise/" rel="dofollow">enterprises with foreign investments and small local workshops.
According to the State statistics service of Ukraine, furniture export increased significantly, by 73.5% to $510 million compared to January-June 2020, and by 56.2% from the first half of 2019.
Furniture market trends in Ukraine
In 2021, there are several notable trends in the development of the Ukrainian furniture market.
• Active development of the segment of home furniture;
• Appearance of a large quantity of multi-brand hypermarkets of furniture, where the consumer can see the goods of several manufacturers;
• The most actively growing sales channel is online. Almost all market players use it today. Ukrainians are increasingly buying goods online, and furniture is no exception;
• Signing an association agreement with the EU, which opened up the European markets for our products.
