Which countries increased imports of marble and granite products during the pandemic?
The European Union (27) is the second largest importer of marble and granite products in the world after the USA. The share of the EU member states in the world imports of granite products exceeds 20% and of marble 9%.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns negatively affected imports but, by analogy, remained high. Between 2019 – 2020 a decrease was recorded in the value of imports of granite products -4.24% while in marble it was higher with -13.6%.
In the Table below we see the changes (%) in the imports of marble and granite products of the member states of the European Union between 2019 – 2020.
The countries with the highest value of granite imports were Germany, Italy, Poland, France and the Netherlands. Except for the Netherlands, which recorded an increase of + 22.6%, all others fell. France, Italy and Poland saw the largest declines and Germany the lowest. The country with the largest increase between 2019 – 2020 was Denmark and the largest decrease was Cyprus.
Regarding marble, the countries with the highest value of imports were France, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Spain. Except for Belgium, which recorded an increase of + 8.31%, all others fell. Italy recorded the largest decline while the rest while Spain, France and Germany recorded a much lower decline. The country with the largest increase between 2019 – 2020 was Poland and the largest decrease was Latvia.
*The statistics are derived from the analysis of the Harmonized System (HS) Codes:
251511: Marble and travertine, crude or roughly trimmed.
251512: Marble and travertine, merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a square or rectangular shape.
251611: Granite, crude or roughly trimmed (excl. Already with the characteristics of setts, curbstones and flagstones).
251612: Granite, merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a square or rectangular shape (excl. Already with the characteristics of setts, curbstones and flagstones).
680221: Marble, travertine and alabaster articles thereof, simply cut or sawn, with a flat or even surface (excl. With a completely or partly planed, sand-dressed, coarsely or finely ground or polished surface, tiles, cubes and similar articles of subheading 6802.10, setts, curbstones and flagstones).
680223: Granite and articles thereof, simply cut or sawn, with a flat or even surface (excl. With a completely or partly planed, sand-dressed, coarsely or finely ground or polished surface, tiles, cubes and similar articles of subheading 6802 10 00, setts, curbstones and flagstones).
680291: Marble, travertine and alabaster, in any form (excl. Tiles, cubes and similar articles of subheading 6802.10, imitation jewelery, clocks, lamps and lighting fittings and parts thereof, buttons, original sculptures and statuary, setts, curbstones and flagstones) .
680293: Granite, in any form, polished, decorated or otherwise worked (excl. Tiles, cubes and similar articles of subheading 6802.10, imitation jewelery, clocks, lamps and lighting fittings and parts thereof, original sculptures and statuary, setts, curbstones and flagstones).
*Due to consistent data flow, statistics may alter during the year
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