“The price of wood rose by 30% to 40% last year, the average wage went up and manufacturers were faced with a shortage of skilled labor,” Aurica Sereny, APMR chairperson said.
The number of employees in the sector dropped 2% from 61,000 people in 2016 to 59,800 last year.
“We were unable to grow as much as we set out to because of the labor shortage. We have a market secured by our group and orders are much bigger than we can fulfil,” said Dan Brumboiu, manager of the Polipol Romania furniture plant in Satu Mare.
Exports of furniture to Romania’s main markets – Germany (5.2%), France (0.3%), Italy (5.8%), Austria (16%) and UK (18.4%) fell last year, APMR said.
Romania failed to participate in several international furniture shows in 2017 – such as those in Birmingham, New York, Moscow and Doha, Qatar.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)