Markets and Industry

1. While the long awaited construction boom in India is nowhere on the horizon, there is some improvement in construction activity in some parts of the vast country. Bangalore and its surrounding area, the NCR (National capital region) and some other cities are places where stone people are selling more than before. But there are also thousands of unsold upmarket flats in buildings in major cities like Mumbai and many building companies are in serious financial trouble. A nationwide construction boom is still some years away.

1. In 2018 the Polish economy is expected to grow at reasonably fast pace with several commercial projects projected and expected to be in the construction stage.

2. The purchasing power of the Polish consumer has been increasing year after year ever since it entered the European Union and it now seems to have reached a level where goods which were beyond the reach of most people are now becoming accessible for a large part of the population. Given the optimistic state of the Polish consumer, more spending on home decoration is expected in 2018.

GLOBAL ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

Robert Stadler robert.stadler@vtxmail.ch

Switzerland is considered to be one of the most stable economies in the world, even in such a volatile world, and this key aspect also applies to the market for natural stone in the country. The variations in demand tend to be rather limited when compared to other countries.

1) The Russian natural stone market has become very price sensitive now, and except for the premium private homes segment of the market, buyers now looks around for the lowest price. The devaluation of the rouble has made imported stone much more expensive. Before the economic slowdown in 2014, the strong rouble and a fast growing economy meant that there was a market for natural stone in all different price segments.

In the month of September, 2016 the Indian Government announced a new  policy for the import of marble blocks which has far reaching consequences for the development of the marble industry in India. The new liberalised policy, while still maintaining high import duties, at last made it easy for anyone setting up a factory to import marble blocks.

With all the daily talk of economic crisis all over the world, the high level of indebtedness, unemployment, slow economic growth, it is easy to forget there are markets which are actually doing quite well in the natural stone industry. We do not refer to a relatively small emerging market which has been growing impressively for about 5 years and which is catching the eye of the world. We refer here to no less than Germany, a country of 80 million people and with as solid an economy as is possible in these current times.

 1. The housing market in general is quite strong and except for a part of the very high segment (explained below) for now there seems to be no signs of a bubble or an imminent slowdown. A lot of building of condominiums and apartments is going on, as well as single family homes and sales of used homes.