São Paulo – Furniture exporters from Ubá hub, in Minas Gerais, had profits with the sale of furniture to countries like Saudi Arabia. The Arab country purchases on average US$ 200,000 a month in products from the region. This year, sales should rise to US$ 250,000 a month.
Saudi Arabia, however, is not the only country that buys furniture made in Ubá. According to figures supplied by the Association of Retailers and Representatives of the Furniture Sector in Minas Gerais (Alormov), on the foreign market, the United States is the main buyer of furniture produced by companies in the hub. The North Americans buy, on average, US$ 2 million a month, followed by Italy, which buys US$ 600,000 each month.
The executive vice president at Alormov, José Oscar da Silva, stated that sales abroad began in 2006, when the Intermunicipal Union of Furniture Industries of Ubá (Intersind) created a committee for exports. The proposal was for the committee to help companies from Ubá to export.
"Brazilian economy is doing well, with the C and D classes buying furniture and the domestic market heated. However, in a globalised world, we cannot only count on one source of revenues. We must have exports for our economy also to remain balanced,” said Silva.
She stated that bedroom furniture is the most sold to the Saudis. “They buy great volumes of beds without headboards, beds with sliding beds and even ones with two sliding beds beneath them. They also suffer from lack of space,” said Silva. The kind of wood varies, but the main raw material for products exported is eucalyptus grafted with other kinds of wood. Sheets of eucalyptus are very light. For this reason, saplings are cultivated and receive grafts of more resistant woods, so that they may become stronger. Eucalyptus may be cut five years after it has been planted. In more noble woods, this takes up to 25 years.
Ubá region has approximately 450 producers of furniture, selling between 300,000 Brazilian reals (US$ 186,000) and 400,000 reals (US$ 248,000) a month in furniture. Average monthly revenues are 135 million reals (US$ 84 million). Exports total US$ 10 million a month. "Our exports are recent, only starting in 2006. However, they grow a little each year. Revenues should rise,” said Silva.
*Translated by Mark Ament
