Granite, together with marble, are the two most popular natural decorative stones used in construction, architecture and interior design worldwide. From countertops to floorings and from multi-storey building facades to walls and furniture, its unique stiffness and natural hardness amplify its timeless character.

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, the top exporters of raw granite are India, Serbia, Norway, Brazil and South Africa, while the top importers are China, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Italy and Spain. As for processed granite, the top exporters are China, Brazil, India, Italy and Spain, while the top importers are the United States, South Korea, Japan, Germany and Vietnam.

EU in total is also an important importer of granite, both in block and slabs and finished products, given also the fact that the EU28 economy is the second largest in the world, in nominal terms after the States. Stonenews.eu, after collecting and analysing the relevant statistical data from Eurostat, is presenting the EU’s granite blocks and slabs as well as finished granite products imports from January to October 2019, to the variables of value and quantity of imports. In addition, an resume of each country’s granite products imports is also presented as well as the main origin countries for both categories and their share in total EU’s import value of the above. 

EU’s finished granite products import value is by far more than this of granite blocks and slabs from January to October 2019- almost double in most of the months and even triple sometimes. May and July are the best months for finished granite products while April and July again for granite blocks and slabs. But has this gap remained the same for quantity of granite imports?

Things flip over when it comes for quantity of granite products imports. EU imported more tons of granite blocks and slabs than finished granite products during the first ten months of 2019. Fluctuations were rather intense for granite blocks and slabs quantity of imports, with April hitting the top and February sliding to the bottom. On the contrary, finished granite products quantity of imports was rather stable, with May and July slightly moving upwards. How were these imports distributed to each of the EU’s 28 countries?

The graph above is presenting EU’s 28 countries share in total granite products import value. But which were the origin countries? Where were the granite products imported from?

The graph above is presenting the share in import value of the main EU’s granite supplier countries. China is holding the lead as the largest granite products supplier of the EU, followed closely by India. Italy comes third, while Norway holds the fourth place by exporting exclusively granite blocks and slabs to the EU28. South Africa and Brazil are also included in the first places.

It is worth mentioning that during the first ten months of 2019, EU28 imported granite blocks and slabs of 339.82 million euros worth as well as finished granite products of 727.64 million euros.

*Due to consistent data flow, statistics may alter during the year

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