The Natural Stoneshow 2013 / 30th April - 2nd May 2013

The UK market has grown at a faster rate than anywhere else in Europe. National Statistics reveal that the level of imports into the UK between 2003 and 2007 increased by 88% in value with the industry now worth £1.15 billion per annum at the consumer end.

All sectors of the market have shared in this growth, as the attractive and hard-wearing qualities of stone have received greater recognition as a means of adding both quality and value to a project.

Imports in particular have flourished, satisfying a growing demand for stone interiors in domestic and commercial properties with the rise in popularity of granite worktops, limestone flooring and marble-tiled bathrooms just a few examples of this established trend. External use of stone has also increased significantly with major public landscaping projects taking advantage of the falling prices of sandstone and granite from emerging economies and developer's increasingly using stone for cladding and roofing new builds.

In terms of yield, stone is imported into the UK at an average price of €1013 per ton*. Of the top four supplier countries, Italy have proved their ingenuity by successfully positioning their products at the top end of the market with the highest yield of €1361 per ton, over 63% higher than the prices set by Turkey and India, and 90% more than the average price of Chinese products.

Despite these price differentials, all of the countries involved in supplying standard and cut-to-size products to the UK increased their sales over the last 5 years, a sure sign that the British market is doing well on all levels from serial to luxury products. In terms of volume growth, Turkey leads the way with 700% growth (with the UK now being their largest market in Europe), followed by China with 380%, India 133% and Italy 47%. Portugal, Spain, Germany and France whilst losing overall market share, have also grown their turnover into the UK over this period.

This level of activity is reflected at the Natural Stone Show which has participants from over 40 countries around the world and has doubled in size since 2002.

* 2006 UK stone economy report - Marmomacchine Classic