Brazil: Stone Export Revenues Top $1 Billion in 2023
VITÓRIA, Brazil — Natural-stone exports from Brazil topped $1 billion last year, with more than half of the material heading for the United States.
Although the $1.11 billion in shipments trailed 2022 by 13.4%, natural stone remains on a positive path for 2024, according to the president of Centrorochas, the Brazilian Center of Natural Stone Exporters.
“Many economic segments suffered the impacts of the pandemic immediately. In the stone industry,” said Tales Machado “I would venture to say it is happening now. What reassures us is that this effect is produced as the re-establishment of revenues to pre-Covid levels.”
The figure reflects the resilience of the sector, which, after meeting pent-up demand in the post-pandemic period, keeps facing old problems such as logistical obstacles.
Machado credited positive signals in the market created by “It’s Natural,” a project to to promote Brazilian stones in the international market, developed by Centrorochas with support from ApexBrasil.
“Through It’s Natural, we have been carrying out strategies for market expansion and we have been innovatively seeking a rapprochement with international stone specifiers,” he said.
Action confirmed for the program this year include Brazilian participation in KBIS 2024, the main event for kitchen and bath design in North America, which will bring together over 49, 000 architects and designers from February 27-29, in Las Vegas. Brazil will have a conceptual booth to promote its stones.
The United States provided the prime destination for Brazilian natural-stone exports last year, absorbing 54.7% of shipments, followed by China (15.4%), Italy (7.1%), Mexico (5.1%), and the United Kingdom (1.8%).
Among exporting states, Espírito Santo stayed in the lead, with 82.2% of national shipments, followed by Minas Gerais (10.4%) and Ceará (3.1%).
The figure reflects the resilience of the sector, which, after meeting pent-up demand in the post-pandemic period, keeps facing old problems such as logistical obstacles.
