July 1 – In the first 2013 quarter, the streak of Italian marble and granite export products continued: consolidating its presence in the US market (+44.5%), Canada (+3%), Russia (+ 16%) and Middle East (+8%); growing in Mexico (+50%), North Africa (+42.7%) and India (+45%), while trade with Europe is slightly decreasing (-4, 9%). This is the scenario drawn up by the Marmomacc Observatory on the basis of Istat data. Marmomacc, the most important international event dedicated to natural stone, design and manufacturing technologies, will be at the Fiera di Verona, September 25-28, for its 48th edition. The final balance for the first 2013 on stone exports is €386.8 million, with an overall increase of 9.2% over the same 2012 period. Processed products are in the lead, with a turnover of €307.4 million (+9.7%), but raw block exports are also increasing, reaching €79.4 million (+7.2%). These numbers contrast the general setback that affected many other Italian export sectors at the beginning of the year. The feedback is then that of a winning sector abroad, thanks to the added value of manufacturing and design excellence but waiting for the recovery of the internal market, still blocked by the building crisis. International development is thus crucial for the Italian stone industry that finds in Marmomacc its main interchange hub. “For this – says the Director General of VeronaFiere, Giovanni Mantovani – in the 2013 Marmomacc edition, in addition to the traditional U.S., Canada and UK markets, always important in terms of product demand, target countries will be Russia , China, Southeast Asia and Central America. For machinery and technologies, we will focus on Russia, North Africa, Iran, Iraq and Brazil.”
