Belgium is a strong market for Portuguese furniture exports, from designer pieces to handcrafted items. Whether your furniture ships as a parcel or needs pallet freight depends entirely on its size — larger pieces are almost always cheaper on a pallet than forced into parcel courier dimensions.
DHL Express, FedEx and UPS all accept furniture within parcel size limits (roughly 270–300cm combined dimensions, 70kg). For anything larger — sofas, wardrobes, large dining tables — pallet freight is almost always more cost-effective than forcing it into parcel courier dimensions.
Disassemble to the smallest possible size — remove legs, shelves and drawers, and bundle screws/bolts in a labelled ziplock bag taped inside the box. Use L-shaped foam corner protectors on all corners and edges, since furniture corners are the most commonly damaged part in transit.
No customs paperwork within the EU. For antique furniture over 50 years old, check whether the piece requires an export licence from Portugal's Directorate-General of Cultural Heritage (DGPC) before shipping, regardless of the EU-internal customs simplicity.
Small and medium pieces (chairs, small tables, flat-pack shelving) fit within standard parcel courier limits (roughly 270–300cm combined dimensions, 70kg) and ship via DHL, UPS or FedEx. For anything larger, compare pallet freight quotes — it's almost always cheaper for bulky furniture despite sounding like the bigger service.
Wrap any glass or mirror component separately in at least 3 layers of bubble wrap with 'GLASS — FRAGILE' labels, and mark 'THIS SIDE UP' with arrows. Consider a specialist glass transit box for large mirrors or glass tabletops given the multi-day transit.
Possibly — antique furniture over 50 years old may require an export licence from Portugal's Directorate-General of Cultural Heritage (DGPC), regardless of destination. This is separate from and in addition to the simple EU-internal customs process for the shipment itself.
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