SPANISH AND ITALIAN TILE PRESS CONFERENCES HIGHLIGHT INDUSTRY TRENDS
The Spanish Ceramic Industry Estimates Turnover for 2023 of €4,684 million (-14.3%)
ASCER, the Spanish Association of Ceramic Wall and Floor Tile Manufacturers, during Cevisama 2024, held an international press conference organised in collaboration with ICEX Spain Trade and Investment.
ASCER’s president, Vicente Nomdedeu Lluesma, presented the provisional year-end close for 2023, a year marked by a generalised drop in market demand. The sector’s estimated turnover for 2023 is €4,864 million (-14.3%), €3,564 million of which correspond to 189 international markets. Domestic sales are estimated to stand at €1,300 million. Parallel to the drop in demand, 2023 saw a 21% fall in production to just under 400 million square metres.
Despite this negative trend, Spain continues to lead production in the European Union. As ASCER’s president stated, “Today, Europe only accounts for 8.4% of global production, compared with just ten years ago when we clearly led the sector. Our products compete on international markets under unequal terms in comparison with other producers who face less demanding labour or environmental requirements, to give just a couple of examples. It’s important to balance the game rules and to ensure that our customers demand that their non-EU suppliers comply strictly with the highest standards”.
Turning to the drop in sales, Nomdedeu explained, “Our sales are not immune to the global fall in demand, registering a 16.6% decrease in value and 22% in volume”.
The Italian Ceramic Industry Reports Turnover for 2023 of €6.2 billion (-14.1%)
Earlier in June 2024, during the Assembly in which they appointed a new president for the two year period 2024–2026, Confindustria Ceramica reported that the Italian tile industry turned over €6.2 billion (-14.1% compared to 2022) with exports at €5 billion (-15.4%) and sales of 369 million sqm (-17.8%). This accounts for 125 companies present on Italian soil, where 18,432 direct employees are employed, a slight decrease compared to the year previous. Investments were valued at €474 million euros, up 7.4% on 2022, and with a share of 7.7%.
The Italian ceramic industry is a whole – including not just the ceramic tile industry but also sanitary ceramics, the refractory materials industry, the brick sector and ceramic crockery – exceeded €7.5 billion in turnover.