Bursa International Block Marble Fair, the eagerly anticipated meeting of the natural stone industry, is opening its doors today, November 6, for the 23rd time. Organised in the Bursa International Fair and Congress Center with the participation of 185 companies, the fair will host visitors from more than 50 countries. The exhibition will include hundreds of new colours and thousands of A-quality blocks of marble and will accommodate many foreign trade connections as in previous years.
Bursa 6th International Marble Block Fair, the only specialized fair in its field, will be held at Tüyap Bursa International Fair and Congress Center between 23 – 26 November 2022. Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BTSO) and Tüyap Bursa Fuarcılık A.Ş. Organized by the Istanbul Mineral Exporters’ Association (İMİB) and the Mineral Marble Producer and Industrialist Businessmen’s Association (MADSİAD), the fair is supported by the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development and Support Administration (KOSGEB).
BTSO Chairman of the Board İbrahim Burkay said that they organized the International Block Marble Fair for the 6th time this year, which they realized in order to bring the potential of Bursa in the marble industry to the world. Noting that the fair, which was brought to the national economy by acting together with the sector, has the quality to meet the needs of not only Bursa but also the region and Turkey, Burkay underlined that most of the products exhibited at the fair were sold before the fair even started. Noting that the fair has a large share in the sector’s recent increase in export performance, Burkay said, “The sector makes a significant contribution to the Turkish economy with its high export potential, domestic market consumption and natural stone machinery.
Our country has now become one of the 10 largest producers of natural stone in the world. Turkish marble has become a brand with its different color scale and quality.” said. President Burkay drew attention to the potential of the fair in previous years and continued as follows: “Our fair makes a significant contribution to the Turkish economy with its high export potential. As BTSO, we aim for the fair, which we have been supporting since its first year, to provide added value to the sector.”
Ilhan Ersözlü, General Manager of Tüyap Bursa Fairs, stated that they were excited about this heaviest meeting of the industry and said: “Bursa International Block Marble Fair was held in 2019 for the last time. Due to this mandatory break due to the pandemic, the industry missed the fair. We expect a large visitor participation. 2.200 blocks of marble in hundreds of new colors, thousands of A quality, extracted from almost all quarries of our country, will take place in the fair, which consists of 7 separate halls and open exhibition areas, as they are extracted from the quarries.
The heaviest meeting of the sector with 50 thousand tons of 2 companies operating in the natural stone sector will add momentum to the sector’s trade by hosting the targeted business people from more than 185 countries. This fair, which will be the scene of critical business connections as in previous years, also offers important export income opportunities for our country, which has rich marble deposits. We are excited about this as well. We have reached the final stages in our preparations, we are counting the days to meet with the sector.
In addition to the procurement committee program we have organized with the Istanbul Mineral Exporters’ Association, individual meetings will also take place at our fair. I would like to thank the participants, the Istanbul Mineral Exporters’ Association for their invaluable support, and the Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Mineral Marble Producer and Industrialist Businessmen’s Association, who have contributed to the fair’s success since the first day.”
MADSİAD Chairman of the Board Erol Efendioğlu, on the other hand, underlined that the fair made positive contributions to the Turkish marble business becoming a world brand and stated that Turkey caught up with Italy, which has a marble income of 2 billion dollars. Stating that there were 1600 blocks of marble with 2 trucks in the previous fair, Mayor Efendioğlu said, “We expect more than 200 thousand marbles to take place this year. Our fair is growing by doubling its brand value every year and is at the top of the agenda of industry professionals. I hope it will be a beautiful and fruitful fair for our participants and our country.”
Rüstem Çetinkaya, Chairman of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) Mining Sector Board and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Istanbul Mineral Exporters’ Association (İMİB), stated that they established a procurement committee program with the participation of more than 30 business people from more than 250 countries; “The mining industry in Turkey exports 6 billion dollars annually. However, we do not see this as enough, we are trying to raise it higher. We know that Turkey’s potential in mineral exports is around 30 billion dollars.
In order for our industry to reach more exports, we participate in domestic and international fairs, and we strive for our members to expand their markets. We see our fair held in Bursa as very valuable in this context. As IMIB, we are organizing a ‘Natural Stone Purchasing Delegation Organization’ at the 23th Block International Marble Fair to be held at TÜYAP Bursa International Fair and Congress Center between 26-6 November. We plan to bring manufacturers from Turkey to buyers around the world. Our manufacturers will have a great opportunity to promote their products and create new markets with the organization of purchasing delegations.
In this way, we aim for our members to get a larger share of the 2,5 billion dollar export market. We want quality Turkish products to reach every corner of the world.” said. Rüstem Çetinkaya pointed out that Turkey needs more exports in order to reach its targeted levels and said, “We should not forget how important the miners and the mining industry are here. If we, as IMIB, reach the level we aim for in mining production, we will become Turkey’s most exporting sector. That’s why we try to take an active part in the fairs and try to bring our manufacturers together with more international buyers through the purchasing delegation programs we organize.” he said.
Source: raillynews.com
