| The Chinese are actively involved Worldwide natural stone trade |
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issue time:2006-06-22 13:51
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For some months now, a rumour has been circulating in the Italian natural stone industry that Chinese companies have made an offer for the exclusive purchase of the entire stock of Sardinian Orosei marble.
The once famous Sardinian natural stone centre currently comprises 22 quarries with 400 employees, who extract a total of 80,000 cubic metres a year. Orosei marble is a beige-coloured limestone with white patches and fine brown veins. With the unbelievable boom in the building industry, Chinese architects think this stone is particularly suitable for the tastes of the wealthier classes of the local population. This was the starting point for the suggested bulk purchase.
The quarry owners in Sardinia are regarding this offer with great caution. On the one hand they appreciate the interest, but on the other they fear becoming too dependent on Chinese business partners. Two companies from Shanghai and Taiwan have already sent several employees to the quarries. Orders for approx. 50 tons are currently in progress and further purchases in the order of 500 tons are under discussion.
The Latium region is the home of 130 travertine quarries and processing companies, which employ a permanent workforce of about 950. Export has become increasingly difficult in the course of the last few years, especially since the terrorist attack on 11 September 2001, and this situation has been aggravated by the weak dollar. Exports to Germany, France and the Arab countries also dropped heavily. The region around Tivoli produced only a little over 1.2 million tons of material in 2003 鈥� compared with almost three million tons in 2000.
The Italian natural stone companies in this region are fighting an invasion of stone from Mexico and Turkey, which although rated as lower quality is obtainable at substantially lower prices. A few months ago, various quarrying companies from Tivoli and Guidonia therefore started offering natural stone from Turkey in China in order to minimize their own wage costs.
These globalization effects also affect other important natural stone regions in Italy. It has been said for a few months now that the relatively expensive Botticino material has been re-imported into Europe by companies based in the Xiamen region. The stone is supposed to cost ten dollars less per square metre than it costs in Brescia, from where it originates.
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