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Exports from the furniture center of Bento Gonçalves fall 13.4%

Last year’s balance of exports, released by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC), confirmed the expectations of loss that Sindmóveis predicted for the furniture center of Bento Gonçalves. A total of US$ 48.8 million exported by the furniture industry in 2014 represented a decrease of 13.4% over the previous year. This is the steepest decline in exports since 2009, the peak of the last international crisis, when exports went down 35%. The poor performance happened in 33 out of the 57 countries that imported furniture from the local industry, when comparing 2013 to 2014. The fall in Brazil in the same comparison was 2.7% and Rio Grande do Sul, on the other hand, increased it by 2.4%. Overall, the decrease was due to the loss of competitiveness of the Brazilian industry, especially because of high production costs. The furniture industry also suffered the effects of high taxes and excessive bureaucracy, in addition to infrastructure problems. Moreover, according to the president of Sindmóveis, Henrique Tecchio,  the difference in performance between the state, the country and the local industry can be explained by the fact that Bento Gonçalves does not have a significant presence in two of the major markets for the country and for Rio Grande do Sul in 2014: the United States and the United Kingdom. In order of importance, the destination of exports from Bento Gonçalves that most contributed to this widespread decline were Colombia (-14.7%), Peru (-25.8%), Chile (-22.5%), Cuba (-35.6%), Argentina (-58.7%) and Venezuela (-51.8%). Looking on the bright side, there was an increase in furniture exports to African countries including Angola, Algeria and Zambia, in Latin America to Panama and Mexico, and in the Middle East to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. The furniture center is comprised of Bento Gonçalves, Monte Belo do Sul and Santa Tereza.