World trade in stone up 4.3% – report at Carrara stone exhibition will show
- World trade in stone up 4.3% at €22.3billion
- China holds 34% of the market
- Turkey is the leading exporter of marble
On Friday (23 May) at the Marmotec stone show in Carrara, Italy (21-24 May), the Italians' annual report on the world stone industry trends and imports-exports by the Internazionale Marmi e Macchine Research Office was published.
Now in its 24th edition, the report includes statistics on the production and trade of individual countries and offers analysis of trade and market developments on national and local levels, courtesy of Manuela Gussoni.
The statistics show that China was again (in 2013) the leading country in terms of market share in the natural stone industry, accounting for 34.3% of the total value of world exports.
Italy’s market share decreased by 12 percentage points compared with 2012 (down to 13.61% in 2013). Competition from Turkey and China – Turkey for marble (especially blocks and slabs) and China for finished granite products – particularly hit the Italian results.
The report gives the main trends in the international trade of stone materials, with details of export values, the direction of trade flows, and the markets with strong growth and high growth potential.
Again in 2013, the value of the international trade of stone materials recorded an annual increase of 4.3% for a total turnover of more than €22.3billion. This is due to a strong increase in the average unit value of stone products, traded less and less as raw materials, which went from €197 per ton in 2011 to €264 per ton in 2013.
A survey by the ICE and Ernest & Young on the construction market in India will also be presented during the meeting at the Carrara exhibition.
India has the fourth largest market share of the world stone industry after China, Italy and Turkey. Its export value stands at €1.3billion, showing an increase of 3.4% on 2012.
India’s natural stone imports in 2013 reached more than €308million, with Italy the leading supplier accounting for almost 35%. Because of that, the study of the construction market in India is particularly interesting to the Italians as it reprtesents new opportunities for Italian stone companies.
Turkey is the world leader in terms of the values and quantities of marble exported. It has 43% of world exports of block and 20% of finished products.
Its leading position is based on its price competitiveness. The average unit value of exports of Turkish finished products of the highest quality (in marble, travertine and alabaster) is €372 per ton, while in Italy the average unit value for finished products is above €1000 per ton.
The price of Italian finished products is not only determined by Italian labour costs, but also by the special attention paid to quality and a combination of cutting-edge technologies and excellent skilled artisanship, recognised and appreciated throughout the world. As a result, there was an increase in exports of Italian finished marble products of 4.4% in quantity and 10.6% in value. In 2013, Italy exported 924,425tonnes of finished marble products for a total value of €901.6million, returning to the values of the early 2000s.
The stone industry in Italy generated a positive trade balance of more than €1.5billion for the country. This is even more significant when compared with the general stagnation of Italian exports in general in 2013 (down 0.1%).
Following the introduction by Fabio Felici, IMM Chairman, Manuela Gussoni, head of the IMM Research Office, will be presenting the Stone report, outlining the prospects and opportunities in the stone industry with reference to the data in the report.
The market survey on the construction industry in India will then be presented with comments on the results by Alessia Bianchi, Deputy Director of the ICE office in New Delhi.
At the end, Ines Aronadio, director of the Consumer Goods Office of the ICE (the Agency for the promotion abroad and internationalisation of Italian firms) will present a summary and the closing remarks.