North Americans pay more than twice as much for a tonne of processed stone as Africans and half as much again more than Europeans, according to statistics produced from Italy.

The worldwide average price per tonne of finished marble from Italy is Ä682 (£445) and for granite Ä832 (£540).

Above-average prices were paid in Oceania and the Far East last year, although North Americans paid most. In Africa the average price was only Ä385 (£250) per tonne for marble and Ä476 (£310) for granite. In Europe the average price for Italian marble was Ä679 (£440) a tonne and for granite Ä795 (£520) a tonne. The Italian statistics show Eastern Europe offers the best promise of growth.

In the first half of 2002 Italian exports were worth Ä953.7million (£625million), an 8% fall on the previous year. The setback was particularly noticeable for granite, down 15.7%.