GUADALAJARA, Mexico - A record attendance of roughly 30,000 buyers and visitors will be in Guadalajara, Mexico for Expo Mueble International, Latin America's leading furniture and decoration fair. The annual show takes place Feb. 15-18  at Expo Guadalajara and is organized by the Association of Furniture Manufacturers of Jalisco (AFAMJAL).

Teresa Calderón, president of AFAMJAL, said they expect to reach close to 800 million pesos in economic benefits for the winter edition of the show. This figure represents an amount higher than those obtained in the pre-pandemic editions, where up to 630 million pesos were registered, she noted during a Jan. 19 press conference.
 
The press conference was also headed by Roberto Arechederra Pacheco, secretary of Economic Development of the State of Jalisco, as well as by Roberto Cornejo, coordinator of the AFAMJAL Exhibitions Committee.

According to Cornejo, the show will feature approximately 500 exhibitors, covering 72,000 square meters throughout three areas, Jalisco Hall, Guadalajara Hall, and Mexico Hall; and four pavilions, México Diseña, Expo Oficina, Textile Pavilion and the launch of the 16th edition of the National Furniture Design Contest, Dimueble.

Calderón reported that Mexico is the sixth largest furniture exporter globally and the main one in the American continent, above the United States and Canada, according to data from the International Trade Center (ITC). In 2021, which is the latest available figure, it represented exports of 11,000 million dollars and more than 150 million dollars at the Jalisco level in 2022. Likewise, the country is the third global exporter of chairs, after China and Poland, she noted during the press conference.

Regarding the prospects for 2023, Calderón said she "expects the furniture sector to remain stable despite the global economic slowdown, thanks to the continuous urban development of large cities and the increase in the construction of corporate buildings that have impacted positively on the growth of furniture production."

For information on the show, visit expomuebleinternacional.com.mx.