Since the beginning of this century, the United Kingdom’s demand in natural stones has followed an upward trend, with the exception of the time before the Brexit vote and announcement, when uncertainty caused multiple business delays or cancellations. Most of the natural stones imported in the UK are used in construction works in their finished form. The sturdiness and reliability of granite as well as the luxury and the durability of marble have made these two natural stones the most popular in building works.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led the UK economy opposite a major challenge of recession. How was this captured in marble and granite imports? Stonenews.eu, after collecting, studying and editing the statistical data provided by the ITC and Eurostat, is presenting the finished marble and granite products import growth in the 1st quarter of 2020, compared with last year’s same quarter as well as the exact previous quarter in 2019, both in value and quantity of imports.
Both finished marble and granite products imports of the UK were severely hit in the 1st quarter of 2020, either compared with last year’s 1st quarter or the exactly previous quarter in 2019. The decline was major: both finished marble and granite import value and quantity sank by over 60%, leading to just $ 4.3 million value of finished marble imports and $ 5.75 million value of finished granite imports in the first three months of 2020 opposite $ 12.16 and $ 17.6 million value respectively in the first three months of 2019.
*Due to consistent data flow, statistics may alter during the year
