Dec. 12 – A crisis? No, thank you. Despite the difficult economic situation, Italian stone exports are booming, registering in the first nine months of 2013 a positive trend that consolidates the findings from the first half of the year. As announced by the Internazionale Marmi e Macchina Carrara, which released its periodical statistical results from its research department, in the period January-September 2013, Italian companies exported 3,214,718 tons of stone materials for a total of €1.414.551.649, for an increase, over the same period last year, of 3.2% in quantity and 7.2% in value. The statistics include white and colored marbles, granite, travertine and other natural stones, both raw and processed. Processed marble stands out with exports at 675.000 tons (+4.6 %) for a value of €648.3 million (+10.1 % compared to 2012), alongside exports for finished granite with 441.000 tons at €415.4 million, which showed a modest decline in the quantity (-1%) but an increase of 3.3% in value. Exports in marble blocks and slabs continue to grow at 1,047,265 tons for more than € 239 million, with an increase of almost 6% in quantities and +10.3% in value. The average unit value of the marble blocks and slabs increased from € 219 to € 228 per ton thanks to a 6.5% increase in the incidence of slabs on overall profit values . Today, the value of marble block exports is made for 46% by slabs, in which it is included transformation, while the remaining 54 % is crude or roughly trimmed marble. The President of the Internazionale Marmi e Macchina Carrara, Fabio Felici, states: “It’s a trend reinforced in the first few months of the year and, more importantly, it is in contrast with the general economic trend, This testifies the international appreciation for Italian stones and the importance of the sector in creating jobs and value added. It also proves that marble is one of the excellences in our economy, thanks to an image built over time and constantly reinforced by the quality of the product and innovation that our companies are able to introduce in the production process.” The Internazionale Marmi e Macchine Carrara (IMM) promotes the most famous natural stone in the world. The Company manages the CarraraFiere complex, which hosts the main exhibitions and conferences in the sector.
