XIAMEN FIT IMPORT & EXPORT CO., LTD.
Distinct drop in Italy鈥檚 natural stone expor
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Italy exported some 3.7 million tons of natural
stone and natural stone products worth 1.45
milliard euro in the first nine months of 2002,
which is distinctly less than the previous year.
The exports in the period January to September
2002 dropped by almost four per cent in quantity
and as much as almost eight per cent in value.  

These figures reflect the problems that occupied
the Italian natural stone industry last year
and will probably continue to do so in the  
future. The essential factors here include
reduced consumption in some of the key sales
markets and increasingly stronger competition
from other countries, especially from the Far
East.  

European sales particularly deteriorated last
year, especially in the EU countries, which buy
around one third of Italian exports and thus play
a key role in the development of the Italian
natural stone industry.  

The only positive exceptions are Great Britain,
Finland and to a lesser extent Portugal.