Brazilian stone sector closes 2nd quarter with 39% increase in exports

Despite being suffering from the effects of lack of space on ships and availability of containers since the beginning of the year, the national ornamental stone sector celebrates the result obtained with exports until August. According to data from the Brazilian Center of Dimension Stone Exporters (Centrorochas), released this week, at the end of the second quarter of 2021, the Brazilian natural stone segment closed exports with an evolution of 39.34%, compared to the same period of the year past, accumulating U$S 831.8 million in direct sales and 1.5 million tons of shipped products.

Emphasis on sales of marble blocks and similar, slabs and other marble pieces, growing compared to the previous year, respectively, 78.86% and 51.42%, in the accumulated result for the year, showing an increase in the international demand for these materials. In August, the United States, one of the eight priority markets for It’s Natural – Brazilian Natural Stone, a project resulting from the sectoral agreement signed between Centrorochas and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) with the aim of expand exports of Brazilian dimension stones in the international market, remained in the lead of the most frequent destinations for Brazilian products, accounting for approximately 50.6% of exports.

According to data from the Foreign Trade Statistics Report, by the Ministry of Economy, the port most used for the disposal of processed materials in August was Rio de Janeiro (110.3 thousand tons), representing 76% of all material sent to the international market, followed by the Port of Santos, responsible for 15% and 21.37 thousand tons of the total. The Port of Vitória, in Espírito Santo, was responsible for 65% of the shipment of raw materials, accumulating 42.57 thousand tons of natural rocks, while Fortaleza shipped 14% of the total and 9.4 thousand tons.

“Centrorochas has been working in partnership with Sindirochas, the largest employers’ union in the sector in the country, together with the actors involved in the process of exporting exports, as well as with public authorities, in the search for solutions that in the short term can reduce the effects felt. In June of this year, we carried out a survey among businessmen which pointed to an impact of around 35% on the volume exported in that month. The expectation is that this situation will only be resolved in 2022, but, despite all the scenario, Brazilian exporters have been resilient and contributed to the record of excellent numbers for the country”, pointed out Tales Machado, president of Centrorochas.

Major exporting states

In partnership with the Union of Dimension Stones, Lime and Limestones of Espírito Santo (Sindirochas), Centrorochas also released data by region. In August, Espírito Santo maintained its leadership as the largest exporter in Brazil, registering US$ 118.4 million, concentrating approximately 84.7% of all sales made abroad; of these, 75% have the United States as their destination. Minas Gerais follows as the second largest Brazilian representative in the segment, accumulating approximately 7.7% of exports, further increasing the strength of Brazilian slates in the United Kingdom and North American markets.

Espírito Santo: national rock leader

Following the country’s movement, Espírito Santo evolved between January and August 2021. The state, the largest Brazilian producer and exporter, registered an increase of 39.84% in value and 9.20% in weight, showing an organic growth in added value of exported materials of 28.06% in the average price.

Photo: Levantina Disclosure