Imports and exports of wooden furniture achieved sound results in the first three quarters of 2007, according to data from the China Customs Agency. The total export volume of wooden furniture was 139.28 million pieces during this period, up 10.5% over the same period last year. Total export value was USD4.78 billion, up 15.5% over 2006 and rising 4.51% over the same period last year.

Among the total exported wooden furniture, kitchen furniture amounted to 13.08 million pieces, up 28.1% over the same period last year. The total import volume was 1.41 million pieces during the first three quarters of 2007, up 82.5% over the same period of last year, while the import value reached USD110.19 million, up 62.9% over the last year. The average unit price was USD78.25 per piece, down 10.8% from the same period of last year.

During the same period, China imported 35,000 pieces of rosewood furniture, up 151.8% over the same period last year. The import value during the first three quarters of 2007 was USD6.13 million, up 206.8% over the same period last year and the unit price of the imported furniture was USD175.00 per piece, 21.8% higher compared to the same period in 2006. In 2006, 96.2 thousand pieces of rosewood furniture were exported, 17.4% lower from the same period in 2006. The exported value decreased by 6.7% to USD9.07 million but the average unit price was USD98.26, up 12.96% from 2006.

It is likely that the situation had been brought about by the reduced tax refund rate (where the State readjusted tax refunds down 2% twice between the end of 2006 and June 2007), causing the slowing of exports; the marginal difference of unit price between imports and exports; zero taxes levied on imported wooden furniture, since the government encouraged importation of resources; and the policy that prohibits exports of rosewood manufactured with domestic resources.