The role and place of the southern Europe`s countries in the world marble industry

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Mohamed Bagar. The role and place of the southern Europe`s countries in the world marble industry

Mohamed Bagar, undergraduate student

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the marble industry and the Southern European producers. The main characteristics of marble are analyzed. The positions and peculiarities of the leading European marble producers and exporters, namely Italy, Greece and Spain are shown.

Key words: world marble market, marble.

world marble industry

World marble industry. Export and import trends. In 2015, world marble exports were US$2.3 billion. Approximately 76% of the world's marble exports are contributed primarily by five countries, namely Turkey (38.3%), Italy (16.6%), Spain (9%), Egypt (6.3%) and Greece (5.8%) [5]. The top marble importer countries are: China, India, Italy, Taiwan and United Arab Emirates, they form nearly 79% of imports together.

The global marble market is worth over $50 billion, according to our survey. Global volumes grew at an average annual rate of 7% in the 2011-2013, but during the recent economic downturn the growth rates have slowed. Longer-term growth projections are now around 5%. The industry is highly fragmented in terms of products, end uses and suppliers, but its markets can broadly be categorized as construction and decoration, statuary and monuments, furniture and others. Generally, state industrial support can play a vital role in the promotion of the industrial production [6, с. 50]. The world's top ten natural marble producers include China, India, Turkey, Brazil, Iran, Italy, Spain, Egypt, Portugal, and USA. At the companies` level leading players in marble industry are Levantina, Polycor inc, Indiana Limestone Company, Vetter Stone, To palidis S.A., Antolini. In some African countries like Ethiopia, Mozambique and Djibouti marble producers are listed in the stock markets [9, c. 45]. Among Top-10 of the fastest growing marble import countries since 2011 there were three Arab states namely Kuwait (growth rate 46 000%, the 1st place), Djibuti (495%, the 4th place) and Bahrain (197%, the 9th place) [1]. The reason for their presence among top importers was their fast growth [7, c. 80]. The dynamics of the production in world`s main producers is shown in table 1.

Table 1. Main marble producers.

Source: Global Trade Atlas processing: IMM

Main marble parameters

Marble is selected on the basis of various parameters depending on its specifications and final use. They are rated on three basic characteristics, namely colour, pattern and grain size.

Colour has its importance in the marble market which vary as per time, markets, and marble type from country to country, i.e. European markets prefer white marble while Middle Eastern and Far Eastern markets demand for white, black & beige marble. The role differences in tastes in the Middle East comparing to the other world is stipulated for the state support of different industries in the region -- thus the companies can allow to spend more resources [8, c. 70].

Pattern has its effect on the outlook of marble, thus it plays a major role. Fine, medium and large grain materials are the general form of grain size.

Grain size is meant for the use of marble rather than its outlook. Fine grain materials have a micro hardness and are meant for load bearing areas and sharp corners, whereas Medium and especially the large grain materials are unsuitable for those areas as there are chances of their breakage and cracks. Thus, the vary combinations of colors, sizes and patterns are meant for different segments of customers, i.e. customers with high price range look for rare color, fine grain and homogeneous pattern of marble or for medium grain, common colors & homogeneous pattern and for the medium price range, the market has the marble with rare colors ,large grain size and heterogeneous pattern.

Product categories which appear after processing are divided into slabs, unpolished tiles, polished tiles, decorative items, marble chips.

Slabs. Large semi processed sheets of marble with varied sizes and thickness of nearly two inches are called slabs, they are either exported to the international markets or processed further in the local industry. There are various uses of those slabs such as table or kitchen tops, wall facing, flooring and slabs for other related purposes. Price range of slabs depends on their quality and the size of the sheet.

Unpolished tiles. The segment which opts for lower price of marble succumbs to unpolished tiles. Units which don't have machineries to finish and section them sell them this way. Though, normally, they are sent for further processing.

Polished tiles. Well and fully processed tiles of marble are known as polished tiles. They are pretty more expensive than the unpolished tiles and are sold with price variation based on their vein structure, shades and color.

Decorative items. Various fancy items such as vase, sculptures, pillars etc. are produced worldwide with the variation of their manufacturing techniques, i.e. in developing countries like India these are produced without the high tech machineries, whereas in the countries with high labor cost carving is done with CNC machines.

Marble chips. Tiny pieces of crushed marble which are produced on completely different machinery meant for stone crushers of various grades. They vary in size which ranges from 1 inch to 0.5 cm as per the consumer choice. They are used in flooring and facing in the construction industry.

Geographical analysis: the main European marble producers

Greece

In 2014, the Greek marble exports increased by 10.2% in quantity and 31.7% in value, compared with 2013 [3], and continued (thanks to the strong demand for marble blocks from China) their upward trend which was started in 2008, when demand in the domestic market was affected by the crisis in the construction sector.

Specifically, in 2014 Greek exports of marble and other natural stone products reached 830,800 tons or 205.3 million €, compared to 753,800 tons or 155.85 million € in 2013. Based on the value of Greek marble exports in 2014 the top ten export markets are China, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Brazil, Uzbekistan, USA, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Cyprus and India. These ten countries imported 57.8% of the total quantity of exports, representing 75% of their total value.

In 2014, for the seventh consecutive year, imports of marble in Greece recorded a sharp decline due to the severe crisis in the construction sector which has minimized the demand for stone materials. More specifically, in 2014 imports of natural stone fell to the 220,263 tons or 36 million €, compared to 332,723 tons or 54.7 million € in 2013. In the composition of imports in 2014, as in previous years, there was the domination of the real marbles and limestone's, which are the materials most preferred by the Greek market.

Italy

The Italian marble industry achieved a trade balance of over 1.5 billion Euros in 2014: +10% on 2013. Increase in exports of finished marble products (+4.4% in quantity and +10.6% in value). Exports to the U.S. market still experiencing significant growth: +22% in quantity and +27.5% in value. During the 2013 Italy exported 4,271,962 tons of stone materials (marble and granite, travertine and stone, both raw materials and finished products) for a total value of 1,932,320,029 Euros, showing an increase in quantity of 2.24 % and an increase in value of 6.73% (Table 1) with respect to 2012 [4].

Very different was the situation relating to imports, which declined in comparison to 2012. In fact, in 2013, Italy imported 1.390,880 tons of stone materials (mostly raw materials) for a value of 373,564,569 Euros, representing a decline, compared to 2012, of 6.67% in quantity and 5.42% in value. This decline was particularly due to the reduction in imports of raw granite, which still represent about half the value of imports of the industry.

Spain

While Spain has long been a dominant world supplier of granite, nations such as India have also become major players in the extraction, production and supply of granite. Most of the major granite producers have attained that status quite recently, except for Italy and Spain, the long-time dominant producers in the world granite market before 1990 to 1995. Among the major world granite producers are Spain and India, along with Italy, Brazil and China.

Spain has been a long-time major international dimension granite producer. The adjusted 2014 dimension granite production of Spain is 2,464,920 tons. From 2007 to 2014 the Spanish dimension granite production has grown 23 percent.

Until 2015, EU overall was the dominant producer and exporter of marble, but strong growth in emerging markets, especially in China, Pakistan and India, means that Asia is assuming dominance as a producing and exporting region. However in terms of exports three European countries, namely Italy, Spain and Greece are included into top-5 World`s largest exporters and hold strong positions on the markets.

Reference list

1. Fastest growing marble import countries [Electronic Resource] // http://www.worldsrichestcountries.com/top-marble-importers.html (accessed: 21-05-2016)

2. Global Trade Atlas processing: IMM

3. Greek Statistical Authority.

4. Research office of the International Marmie Macchine Carrara.

5. Top marble exporters 2015 [Electronic Resource] // http://www.worldsrichestcountries.com/top-marble-exporters.html (accessed: 21-05-2016)

6. Бирюков Е.С. 20 мер по выводу российской экономики на траекторию экономического роста // Банковское дело. - 2015. - №2.

7 Бирюков Е.С. Создание финансовых центров // Научно-аналитический журнал Обозреватель -- Observer. -- 2013. -- № 12 (287).

8. Бирюков Е.С. Инвестирование средств суверенных инвестиционных фондов: опыт стран Аравийского полуострова и рекомендации для России // Экономика и предпринимательство. - 2015. - №6-2.

9. Дегтерев Д.А. Фондовые биржи стран Африки // Азия и Африка сегодня. -- 2004. -- №5. -- С. 45.

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