Carpet imports outstrip vinyl in March
June 5, 2025
Imports of soft flooring including wall-to-wall carpet and rugs were up 8.8% to £74.75m in March, according to HMRC data compiled by The Furnishing Report. With this increase, imports of carpet grew faster during the period than alternatives like vinyl.
Interestingly, carpet imports from Belgium saw an 18% drop, to £10.8m, which means the increase came solely from countries like the Netherlands (up 16% to £17.8m), China (up 19% to £6.7m) and Turkey (up 34% to £16m).
All of this together contributed to the highest absolute total for carpet imports since November, and the second increase in a row on a year-on-year basis. Carpet imports in the year to date (January to March) are nor positive compared to last year, The Furnishing Report says.
By comparison, although Belgian producers increased their imports of vinyl by 5.4% in March (up to £7.5m), vinyl imports as an overall category only increased by 0.8% in March, to a total of £42.1m.
Across all flooring categories, UK imports rose 7.1% to £134.1m, though that was a decrease in comparison to the same period of each year between 2021 and 2023.
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