Furniture makers are trying to maintain lei pricing of products, although they are largely dependent on euro pricing due to imported raw materials. “We feel that 2009 is a year for preserving lei pricing and avoiding the impact of the exchange rate on the final price,” the President of Mobexpert producer and retailer, Dan Sucu, told Business Standard.
Although the leu significantly depreciated recently, and this would normally lead to a hike in prices, the market cannot sustain such an increase, so producers are attempting to obtain discounts from their material suppliers. However, suppliers would prefer reducing production than lowering prices.
Prices cannot increase because furniture is also becoming cheaper in Western countries, according to Silvarom Manager, Ioan Marginean. “No significant hikes are announced in the wood prices, but the [euro] exchange rate increased, and 40 percent of the raw materials are imports,” he added.
Local furniture production rose 7 percent last year, up to €2.02 billion, according to estimates by the Romanian Furniture Producers Association (APMR).
