Stone-Ideas.com 
The 2020 figures for Italy’s exports of natural stone are dire (-17,3 %) and continue the trend of recent years
Decline also in exports of technology, but this is solely due to the Covid 19 pandemic
Markets & Marketing
China’s natural stone exports grew by +14.7% to US$6.53 billion in 2020 despite the Covid-19 pandemic
The most important buyers came from Asia / The country has overcome the Trump shock / Probably due to the container chaos: -8% in shipments to Europe
France’s stone sector presents a study on the life cycle assessment (LCA) of gravestones
Objects were compared with stone from France and China, and , not surprisingly, the domestic products performed better
Peter’s Corner: 2020 brought the natural stone sector an increased demand from private customers despite the Covid-19 crisis
Overall, the coming years should also be positive because marble, granite & Co benefit from the eco-trend / However, increased freight costs bring shifts
Turkish natural stone exports in 2020 were negative compared to the previous year, but positive developments could also clearly be seen
Block exports to China collapsed by -22% by value due to Covid-19, but there are strong increases (almost) everywhere in deliveries of finished products
Nature in the Quarry: an active quarrying zone can be a Garden of Eden especially for pioneering animal and plant species
In the “Life in Quarries“ project in Belgium, measures have been developed to facilitate the establishment of rare species with little effort
What the steep increase in freight costs means for stone exports from China to Europe
Analysis for the market of gravestones in Poland: Moving cheap grades and products is not economical it at the moment, and traders may soon have to look for new suppliers
Brazil’s natural stone exports weathered 2020 surprisingly well with only a slight decline despite the Covid-19-crisis
Once again, it was processed quartzite and marble products, as well as soapstone, that yielded good returns
On the Reiserberg not far from Kaiserslautern in Germany there is a walk-in sundial with 12 obelisks made of the local sandstone
The project brings together numerous local features and offers something with which the citizens can identify as well as economic perspectives
In 2020, spending on home improvements and repairs in the US grew by more than 3 percent
New Report by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies / Free Online-Webinar on March 25, 2021
Michael Picco: “We have to communicate more with green facts about natural stone, e.g., Environmental Product Declarations and Life-Cycle-Assessments”
The 2021 president of the Natural Stone Institute (NSI) sees the moment favorable to reach even internationally standardized datasheets for marble, granite etc
Brazil’s export companies criticize the umbrella organization Abirochas and want government subsidies to be used more precisely for new markets abroad
In the meantime, the dispute has reached the legal level and the resignation of President Reinaldo Sampaio is being demanded
Levantina marks International Women’s Day: “Women bring different skills to the company, such as communication, patience, and empathy“
The Spanish natural stone group presents 5 of its female employees in a video
China’s stone sector is taking great strides in “green“ extraction and processing
Social standards for workers also play a role in the model projects, which will have an impact on the industry throughout Asia
International standards for marble, granite & Co: the Natural Stone Institute’s Chuck Muehlbauer was appointed chair of the Technical Committee TC 327
The coming ISO-approved definitions will be about “requirements and test methods for blocks, slabs, semifinished and finished products intended for use in building and for monuments“