“Portugal Home Week”

Taking place today, Portugal Home Week, which is the biggest national event promoting the Portuguese Home Sector, is taking place at Alfândega do Porto. The general theme of the Portugal Home Week will be "Building the home of the future".

The event will bring together industry professionals from across the world with a panel of speakers, of different nationalities and with different perspectives on the global market, participating in the event. Insights into the future of the Portuguese homeware market will also be discussed.

Growth in exports of Portuguese homeware and furniture

Gualter Morgado, executive director of the Portuguese Association of Furniture and Related Industries (APIMA), shared in an interview with idealista that foreign interest in Portuguese furniture has grown significantly.

"Portuguese furniture is starting to be recognised internationally, as products with their own design, quality materials, good construction and with good value for money," Gualter Morgado shared.

This increase was particularly evident in the exports to the United States of America (USA), which now stands as the country that imports the third highest number of Portuguese homeware products, including furniture and textiles. The USA has now overtaken Germany in terms of the number of home and furniture exports it receives from Portugal.

What makes Portuguese homeware so sought after?

Portuguese home and furniture products are beginning to be recognised internationally thanks to the quality of materials used and the craftsmanship involved in their productions as well as the industry´s focus on sustainability. Many companies within the Portuguese homeware industry still incorporate traditional techniques into their production, and have managed to preserve the richness and uniqueness of this craft whilst still being able to meet modern-day requirements.

The textile industry in Portugal is also considered to be the strongest in all of Europe. This industry makes up an important part of the Portuguese economy, and accounts for around 15% of the country’s total exports. 40% of Portuguese textiles are exported to the United States.

It is also important to mention that the biggest upholstery producer in Europe, the AQUINOS Group, is Portuguese.

According to an article published by eco sapo, the furniture sector and its related markets, which includes industries such as textiles, ceramics, lighting and upholstery, reached around €2 billion in foreign sales between January and December 2022, surpassing by 12% the values recorded in the same period the year before, with this upward trend expected to continue throughout 2023.