Whilst sifting through some of the press releases from Marmomacc, the International Stone Fair held last week in one of Italy’s most beautiful cities, Verona, a report titled “The 25th World Stone Report” by Carlo Montani, highlights some interesting facts that somewhat contravene commonly held views here in Australia about the status of natural Stone. Here are some of the highlights of the report plus some of the photos emanating from this terrific show.
“China, India, Turkey and Italy are the top four exporters with a 61% share of total. Italy stands at the top of the technologies sector, with one-third of the world market. Between 1990 and 2013, international natural stone production grew by 180%, from 46 to 130 million tonnes, equal to 1.4 billion equivalent square metres (based on the conventional slab thickness of 2 centimetres), while consumption levels boomed by 185%. A trend of steady increase over the years that becomes even more apparent when taking into account that the last half-century has seen more marble and granite used than in all previous eras.
2013 was another year of consolidation for the world stone industry, the volume of quarried and processed material (265 million tonnes) increased by about 5% compared to 2012. Marble is increasingly used as a constructive and decorative material, with per capita usage up in 2013 to 226 square metres every thousand units, against 215 the previous year and 135 of 2003.
This general expansion, however, is matched by progressive concentration of production in a handful of countries: “Since the 1960s, the balance of power has changed radically,” explained Montani, “with the top four producers – China, India, Turkey and Brazil – expanding from 30% to 61% global production..” As regards trade, 2013 posted values of 22 billion dollars, 58.5% of which in the hands of the top four exporting countries: China, Italy, Turkey and India. Made in Italy confirms its leading role in the field of technology and quarrying, cutting and processing machinery, with about one-third of the world market and very strong positions in several leading nations such as Turkey and Brazil.
Yet what does the future of marble hold in store? The author of the XVV Report said: “Stone boasts an extremely long history and will have a equally long future by combining technology, aesthetics and professional values: in a word, quality. Translated into numbers, prospects through to 2020 indicate total output of at least 170 million tons, equal to 1.8 billion equivalent square metres.”
These are some interesting numbers – we will bring you more from Verona as the press releases hit our inbox, if you’d like to see more from the Verona Stone Show visit www. maromacc.com
