Ceramic tile import down to half

The total volume of ceramic tile imports last year shrank by 48%, to 17.8 million square metres, but production also went down, by 32%, to 6.5 million square metres, after Austria’s Lasselsberger group closed Cesarom plant of Bucharest and moved it to the Cluj unit, writes Business Construct magazine. Imports of ceramic tiles, accounting for 70% of the market, had a sudden decline last year, after importers blocked demand of products of Spain, Italy, Egypt, China or Turkey, because they were stifled by stocks. However, Lasselsberger, the only producer on the market, did not benefit from this situation as it cut its production capacity. “(…) I’m counting on a slight pick-up as stocks are exhausted,” says Dragos Bonea, chairman of Delta Distribution, one of the biggest distributors on the market. On the basis of data provided by players and taking into account an average price of 6 euros/square metre, the value of the market in 2009 reached 150m euros, down 35%. At distributor level, the market hits 180m euros. All market players project a 10% market decline, with the market likely to rebound in 2011.