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An Overview of The Australian and Global Granite Market in Post-COVID Times
It should come as no surprise that the sudden emergence of the coronavirus pandemic derailed the global economy from its path of success in 2020. But as the global market is rapidly regaining its lost momentum, natural stone imports and exports are soon to see an upsurge. In regard to the Australian region, there has been an overall increase in the import of natural stones and other related products, particularly finished marble products.
Be it any part of the world, almost every country got affected due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic last year and Australia was no exception. Talking specifically about granite production and import, the industry suffered badly due to the flight stoppages and complete shutdown. However, in the latter part of 2020, things started gaining confidence and the industry saw a light of hope. This can be clearly seen from the data procured recently.
Various studies reveal that in the last decade Australia has seen an overall increase in imports of all three resources, but particularly of finished marble products. Precisely, between the years 2011 and 2020, the worth of imports of finished marbles got up by + 36.65%, in granites + 8.45%, and in ceramics + 10.17%. In the diagram given below, the trend of the value of imports of finished marble, granite, and ceramics of Australia between 2011 and 2020 can be noticed easily.
This graph reveals that the ceramics take over the finished marbles and granites and the small variations during the decade. For example, the slump in imports between 2015 and 2018 was due to the trade war between the US and China. However, despite this, the imports of finished marble were not much affected and remained somewhat steady.
Global Natural Stone Market
The global natural stone market worth was rested at $33,375.3 million in 2020 and is expected to touch $50,465.1 million by 2030, listing a CAGR of 4.0%.
The surge in the dimension stone mining market is primarily contributed to the rising demand in the construction and real estate industry.
However, the market for natural stone is anticipated to encounter certain restraints from various factors such as augmented interest rate, labor issues, and safety.
For granite suppliers worldwide, Australia is a lucrative market as the country has resumed its flagship HomeBuilder’s Program. Since the last year was impacted due to the emergence of the COVID19 pandemic, there has been an increased demand for granite blocks for sale, gangsaw slabs, cutter slabs, and countertops all across Australia.
Natural stones such as marble and granite are largely used for various areas and applications like flooring, porches, patios, backyards, and pavements. The reason behind their usage is their ability to enhance the aesthetical value of both residential and commercial structures, thereby promoting their acceptance.
In addition, a surge in the number of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) programs in the infrastructure domain combined with real estate and different civic infrastructure projects is slated to push the demand for natural stones at a global level.
Hence, the industry is primarily guided by infrastructure construction projects, which include constructing bridges, roads, ports, airports, highways, power plants, and others. Nonetheless, the rapid increase in industrialization and the need for residential & industrial infrastructure establishments are projected to push the global market.
Major Challenges
One of the biggest challenges to the natural stone market is the influx of artificial stones, which have capsized the market in a considerable way. Artificial stones have captured over 30% share in the US market, 40% in the Australian region, and nearly 60% in Canada.
The foremost reason behind this insurgence is that the global granite industry is not able to ensure unrestricted supply to the leading markets whereas artificial stones are easily available. Moreover, recently has diminished its currency by 45% which enabled them to buy enormous discounts on finished goods to the USA and other countries. They have not lessened the cost of the blocks yet.
This has made it difficult for the Indian granite suppliers to get buyers in the US, who have been getting better deals from Brazil on granite blocks for sale. In addition, since China is backed by a free import policy, it is able to import substantial quantities of stone blocks from different parts of the world and re-exports them after adding more value. Apart from this, they also seek the benefit of government assistance.