Since the Xiamen Fair, the main agenda item of the sector is the Chinese market… What is happening, what should be done, which direction are things going? The agenda was the same in our conversation with Kanyon Group partners, one of the strong representatives of the Chinese market. What is going on in China? Halil Öztürk, General Manager of the company, underlined 5 points, and we had our title.
1- PANDEMIC EFFECT CONTINUES
China is just recovering from the pandemic. However, that effect is still not over in the marble and construction sector. Some beige stones seem to be on the move. But they are not at a very high level either. We have hopes, but 2024 does not look very bright in China.
2- BIG PROBLEM IN GREY
I can say that there is a 60-70% loss in the grey market. The biggest problem here is the new quarries within China and in neighbouring countries. These stones, which are produced at much lower costs than us, are very active in China.
3- BRAZIL’S WEIGHT INCREASES
The most striking issue here is the weight of Brazil. I have never seen so many Brazilians and Brazilian stones in any fair. They are completely in the front row. They have a very high variety of boutique stones. As far as I count, they have nearly 300 different stones. We may be left behind in such a diverse range of quarries in the world.
4- NEW COMPETITOR SOUTH ASIA
Our biggest competitors in grey and white stones are South Asian countries. Cambodian grey, Vietnamese white, greys from China, Myanmar and Laos stones. At the same time, new quarries and new stones are coming from Madagascar and neighbouring countries in Africa. These are the stones that have started to gain a serious place in the sector.
5- A NEW STRATEGY IS NECESSARY
Turkey needs to start comparing its own stones with those of other countries. We should make this comparison objectively and know where we stand in the sector. Accordingly, we should review our customer portfolio and create a new strategy. Otherwise, except for certain stones in the sector, we may experience very troubled days in the long term.
