1. The volume of furniture exports for 2022 amounted to 806.6 million USD, which is 56.2 million USD more than the volume of exports in 2020, but 244.5 million USD less than Ukraine exported furniture in 2021, – said Oksana Donska, a member of the board of the Ukrainian Association of Furniture Manufacturers. And in general, the average annual growth rate of Ukrainian furniture exports over the last six years is 11.5 percent.

2. The government will compensate the participants of the industrial parks for the costs of connection to engineering and transport networks. In accordance with the approved Procedure for providing compensatory payments, up to 100% of expenses (excluding VAT) are subject to reimbursement of the applicant, who must submit a corresponding application to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.

3. Business this year may come under strong administrative pressure from fiscal authorities. Filling the budget becomes an extremely urgent task, and entrepreneurs run out of financial reserves, which leads to complicated power outages. New tax regulations have already entered into force, due to a number of innovations, we can expect them during the first half of the current year.

4. Massive missile strikes on the energy system of Ukraine, of course, affected the conduct of business. However, despite the high level of uncertainty, only 1% of companies ceased operations – most others simply changed operations or revised the schedule of the volume of production or provision of services. 72% of the surveyed company managers do not plan to stop business even if the blackouts continue, and 8% are pessimistic.

5. The draft law approved by the parliament in December, which is awaiting the President’s signature, provides for the possibility of firing mobilized workers. Employers are given the right to dismiss an employee of a company of any form of ownership in cases where he is found to have committed an offense against the established order of military service.

6. The authorities want to implement the concept of “Tax in a smartphone”. Tax services and procedures are moving to an online format, so entrepreneurs will not interact with tax officials personally. There is also an idea to integrate the “e-cabinet” with other services and banks, state registers, and centers, including the Unified State Register of Court Decisions.

7. During the war, Ukrainians must be given indefinite unpaid leave at their request. In addition, the duration of unpaid leave granted by employees at the initiative of the employer will be increased. Corresponding changes to the law “On Leave” have already been outlined in the new draft law No. 8313, which the government recommends to the deputies to adopt before the first reading.

8. Also, a traditional natural washcloth can serve as a material for creating furniture. Mexican designer Fernando Laposse proved this by creating an impressive Lufa collection. It consists of various objects: lamps, vases, screens, and even chairs. The collection is created in a modern minimalist manner.

9. The trend towards re-planning of living spaces – the unification of different apartment zones or the absorption of one another – which is becoming more and more widespread in the world, requires furniture to adapt its products to it. How this applies to kitchen manufacturers will be demonstrated at the kitchen trends and “Möbel Austria” exhibitions, which will be held simultaneously from May 3 to 5 in Salzburg.

10. American furniture designer Chris Shank is known for betting on a combination of original sculptures and furniture. Handmade furniture is made in a workshop in Detroit. One of his techniques: industrial materials or waste are covered with aluminum foil, painted, and then fixed with resin.