After a 4-year break, we were at the Xiamen Stone Fair… We will share the details of this great meeting held on June 5-8 with you in the August issue of our magazine. However, it is necessary to briefly convey the answers to these questions to the friends who call us or ask “How was the fair?” after the fair.
1- First of all, let us state that Xiamen Stone, which opened to international participation after a 4-year break, continues its journey with its former glory. Xiamen Stone, with all its power, quality and organization, told us “Where were we”.
2- Those who carefully watched the stands of China’s leading companies at the fair must have noticed the footsteps of green… We would not be making a mistake if we say that green and stones in green tones were the leading role of Xiamen 2023. Chinese company officials also underlined the trend towards green stones in our conversations. The shades of red and the more yellowish tones of beige were also among our noteworthy notes at the fair.
3- Xiamen showed us that the weight of boutique stones is clearly increasing. In Turkey, we have recently seen boutique stones that look like works of art, each more special than the other. Yes, export quantities will not be in high tonnages like beige or gray, but boutique stones have become the new fashion of natural stone.
4- For Turkish company owners who thought that the stocks in China would be exhausted after the 4-year break, the news from Shuitou is not very encouraging. Friends who visited the Shutiou region, where factories and warehouses are predominantly located, complained that “No one is asking for stones”, which bothered us all. The fact that the amount of stone shipped to China in the first 6 months of 2023 decreased by 10.8% compared to last year reveals this situation.
5- Let’s come to the real issue… Fashion, decreasing demand, full stocks, competition… There are such complaints in the natural stone sector. But the real threat is the growing strength of artificial products. While we used to see maybe 5-10% artificial products in Xiamen, we felt that this rate reached around 40% in the last fair… This was a challenge to porcelain, ceramics and other artificial products at the heart of natural stone.
