Jun 16, 2005. /Lesprom Network/. China's furniture exports kept up their rapid pace of growth in the first quarter 2005. The US is the main market for China's furniture exports and the pace of growth in exports to that market were hardly affected by the decision by the US government to impose anti-dumping duties on some furniture plants in China. According to the latest numbers, the total value of China's furniture exports (all categories) in the first quarter was $3.128 billion, a year-on-year increase of 34.3%. Of this total the value of exports of wooden furniture were $919.49 million, a year-on-year increase of 23%. Zhu Chang ling, deputy director of China's Furniture Association, is on record as saying that the average import tariff of 6.65% applied to China's furniture exports to the US can be absorbed by Chinese exporters and that the anti-dumping tariff is having only a limited impact on Chinese furniture exporters. Zhu commented that the main reasons for the rapid furniture exports in the first quarter of 2005 are that production capacity has expanded, that product quality is improving and that styles and designs are being diversified.