Italy’s natural stone industry officially comes out of the shutdown on May 04, 2020

Many companies had already been back in business for a week and completed interrupted orders / Follow-up projects have been postponed or canceled altogether

Chen Guoqing: „China’s economy is expected to return to its normal growth rate in the third quarter of 2020”

In last decade, the country has consumed about 90% of its natural stone volume each year on the home market, according to the president of China’s national stone association CSMA, exports accounted only for 10%

Thanks to its quartzites, Brazil seems to be coming out of the valley of tears for the first time since 2013

The country’s stone industry recorded an increase in exports of almost (+)2% in 2019, while Brazil’s total exports fell by (-)6.8%

Freedonia market research: the US market for „Outdoor Living Products” will grow 4% to $9.9 billion in 2020

Above all equipment for cooking, barbequeing, lighting etc. was examined, but great opportunities for the natural stone industry can also be identified

China’s economy is slowly recovering: at least in imports there was an increase of (+)2.4% in March 2020 compared to the previous year

The government wants to bring production back on track and temporarily eases customs clearance

Webpages which give an overview of the Coronavirus-epidemic

The demand for countertops in the US is expected to rise (+)3.8% per year to $42 billion in 2024

Freedonia Group’s market researchers see engineered stone as the fastest growing surface material / Natural stone’s share also increasing

Coronavirus: the mostly small companies of the stone sector have largely mastered the crisis so far

The critical point is the shipping which is partly at a standstill or has become more expensive / Adjustments in the companies with reduced workforces and home office

China’s foreign trade slumped significantly in January-February 2020 compared to the year before

Imports and exports fell on average by (-)11% / With ASEAN countries being the most important trade partners, however, there was a slight increase

Recycling as a sales argument: Sell natural stone for shop fittings with a deposit like for bottles

EuroShop trade fair in Düsseldorf (Germany) inspired an idea