Most stone used in hard landscaping projects is imported and last year most of it came from China, which, as a source, has now overtaken India as the main supplier to this sector.

For many years, sandstone (in particular) from India has given the sub-continent the largest share of the hard landscaping market, but Chinese granite (in particular) has grown in popularity and China now has the largest proportion of the market.

Perhaps price rises, some the result of fairly volatile currency fluctuations, have influenced importers’ decisions. The sterling price per tonne of stone from India has increased 25% since 2008 while from China it has risen only 3%. Or perhaps the continual bombardment of email inboxes by Chinese suppliers and a growing familiarity with China as a source of stone is paying off for the country.

The increase in Europe’s share of the market is almost entirely due to a sudden jump in imports from the Netherlands. That has eased back to be replaced by a jump in imports from Ireland. But, as always with stone, the relatively small numbers involved mean decisions made on even one major project can cause significant changes to the figures. Portugal has remained a fairly consistent source of relatively large quantities of granite setts for this market.

The figures here represent only a snapshot of the market presented by HMRC’s commodity codes identifiable as natural stone hard landscaping products. Some stone used for hard landscaping will arrive hidden under other codes. Nevertheless, the figures are comparable year-on-year to identify trends.

The figures for 2014 are available only for the 10 months to October. The last two months are unlikely to have a significant impact on market share for the year but will add something to the market value and volume. We have shown only the value here but volumes have followed the same pattern in the past few years.

The market actually reached its peak in April 2008, but the following crash meant the year as a whole saw imports fall. 2007 now looks distinctly like a bubble, followed by an

over-correction to 2009, a dead cat bounce in 2010 and a continuing decline since then as a result of the government’s austerity measures on local authority spending. Growth in the sector last year reflects the growth in the economy in general, with pay increases and better economic news boosting consumer confidence.