The natural stone segment is among the 29 most affected by the tariff hike covered by the $40,77 million plan announced by the Agency, the sector’s National Association, which had already been expanding its international operations, developed new initiatives to accelerate penetration into new markets.
The Brazilian natural stone industry’s strategy for market diversification will gain new momentum with the Export Diversification Plan: More Paths, More Business, launched on August 11 in São Paulo by the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil). The segment is among the 29 most impacted by the US tariff hike covered by the initiative, which foresees $40,77 million in investments over the next 12 months to expand support for affected companies and sectors.
The measure accelerates a development that has already been promoted by the Brazilian Natural Stone Association (Centrorochas) and by ApexBrasil within the sectoral project It’s Natural – Brazilian Natural Stone. In recent years, market studies, prospective missions, and initiatives in business intelligence have been directed towards identifying new destinations and opportunities for Brazilian companies. The new tariffs increase the urgency of transforming this knowledge and relationships into business.
This need is heightened given the concentration of Brazilian sales in the U.S. market: 73% of national exports of slabs and semi-finished products are shipped to the United States. The strategy, however, does not involve replacing or reducing efforts in the country, but working on two simultaneous fronts: preserving and strengthening the Brazilian presence in the United States, including institutional initiatives aimed at improving access to the market, and expanding the customer base in other markets.
Centrorochas participated in the launch, represented by its vice president, Fábio Cruz, and its project manager, Thiago Fukuda. The meeting brought together representatives from the 29 sectors that were most impacted by the tariff hike. The president of ApexBrasil, Laudemir Müller, and representatives of two ministries directly involved in the foreign trade agenda – the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services, represented by Minister Márcio Elias Rosa, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, represented by Ambassador Alex Giacomelli – also attended the meeting.
For Fábio Cruz, the announced support reaffirms the development of a more diversified international presence, which is already underway. “The United States continues to be essential to our sector, and we will not cease to work in that market. We will continue to work to preserve and expand our presence there, while accelerating the construction of a more diversified and resilient international base. At this moment, ApexBrasil is providing very important support to us. The mobilization of all areas of the Agency and the speed in producing this response strengthen the work we have already been developing and expand our capacity to transform market intelligence into new opportunities for Brazilian companies,” he stated.
The sector has already submitted new diversification initiatives
As part of this development, Centrorochas has already submitted a proposal for initiatives to supplement the project It’s Natural, in order to accelerate diversification. The plan does not represent a change in strategy, but seeks to leverage investments and pre-existing knowledge and direct them towards markets with potential for expansion and less exposure to barriers imposed by the United States. The proposal is structured around five fronts: consolidating operations in Europe; strengthening institutional presence in the Middle East; expanding business relationships in Asia; attracting new international buyers to Brazil; and generating intelligence on the impacts of the Mercosur–European Union Agreement.
Commercial intelligence and logistics working together
The diversification strategy also involves the ability to transform the identification of potential markets into effectively viable business opportunities. During his intervention, Fábio Cruz advocated for deepening business intelligence, including analyses of the competitiveness of Brazilian products against competitors in each market. The representative of the natural stone industry suggested that international logistics be added to this analysis.
The remark stems from a practical issue: identifying a market with purchasing potential is not enough if Brazilian companies lack the routes, frequency, and competitive logistical conditions to serve it. The proposal has two fronts to identify destinations where potential demand and access conditions can effectively result in new opportunities for exports.
The discussion is becoming more important given the restructuring of global supply chains. It was revisited by ApexBrasil itself during the meeting, as a strategic topic for enhancing diversification.
