New dawn for Ukraine

Viktor Yushchenko´s election as President of the Ukraine was confirmed on January 20th 2005. He supports a deepening of his country´s frail democracy and improved contacts with the west whilst maintaining traditional ties with Russia. In October last year, an international decorative stone exhibition was held in Kiev, the capital city. Leading Italian companies took part. All aspects of the Ukrainian stone industry are analyzed in this report by Paul Daniel and Oleg Geleta.

The international specialized exhibition Kamneobrabotka - 2004 (Stone Processing 2004) was held at the International Exhibition Centre in Kiev, capital of the Ukraine, from 20-23 October 2004. 85 exhibitors participated. Though accurate figures for extraction, processing, domestic consumption, exports and imports are hard to come by, it is a fact that the Ukraine has enormous reserves of decorative stones, with increasing volumes being extracted and processed in recent years. Granite, gabbro and labradorite blocks, slabs and tiles are sold on the domestic market, whilst exports to European countries are growing.

A brief history

Ukraine means "at the edge". At the western edge it borders with Europe while the eastern edge borders with Russia. It has been the quintessential buffer state for centuries. The capital city Kiev (Kyiv) can trace its origins to 482 AD. In 882, Prince Oleg of Novgorod arrived to declare "Let this be the mother of Russian cities!". It was the capital of Kievan Rus for almost 300 years. Independence in 1918 was short lived and in 1934 Kiev became the capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. For only the second time in its history Ukraine regained its independence in 1991. The election of Viktor Yushchenko as President in late 2004 could mark the beginning of a new dawn. Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe - a territory comprising 603.700 km2 with a population approaching 50 million.

The country has a centuries old tradition of stone use. In 1125 Prince Vladimir Monomach ordered the Saviour Church to be built of stone in the village of Berestovo. A massive granite monument to his memory overlooks the River Dnieper in Kiev. An attractive stone castle built in the 13th century at Kamianets-Podilsky in the western Ukraine is still standing today. The Livadia Palace in the Crimea is a 20th century example. Built as a summer residence for Tsar Nicolas II of Russia and completed in 1911, it features white Inkerman limestone, Crimean diorite and other stones. The main entrance is decorated with Carrara marble. It was at the Palace that Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin signed accords on the division of territories in Europe in February 1945. The Ukraine subsequently became the world´s third greatest nuclear weapons power. The last MWDs on its soil were destroyed in 1996. Some people consider that the years since independence in 1991 have been ´wasted´. Certainly there have been many allegations of corruption in political and business life. Hopefully the new government will bring about real improvements.

The basic facts

There are 166 deposits of decorative stone being worked in the Ukraine today. The greatest numbers of quarries are to be found in Zhytomir, Zakarpatsk, Kirovograd and Rovno regions. The total volume of decorative stone extracted in the Ukraine is difficult to calculate - it was probably between 50.000 and 60.000 m3 (130.000 - 156.000 tons), and possibly more in 2003.

Strong Italian attendance

Kamneobrabotka 2004 was organized by the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of the Ukraine, supported by Interexpo Exhibitions srl of Italy. There were 85 exhibitors - from Ukraine, Italy, Turkey, Finland, Poland, Russia and China. Several well-known companies from Italy showed quarrying and processing machines and diamond tooling. The Russian company Experimental Plant Ltd was pleased with the interest shown in their granite quarrying machinery, including diamond wire saws and drilling machines. Most Ukrainian quarry operators today are aware that the yield of saleable blocks is often no more than 30% when explosives are used. This can rise to 80% using modern extraction equipment - borne out in practice at the Marina granite quarry, Volodar-Volynsk in Zhitomir region.

Ukrainian stone processing factories use machines made in Italy, Poland, Germany and the Ukraine - in the latter case by the Zhytomir Automatic Machine Factory and a factory in Pavlograd. Many offers of second-hand machines are coming from Germany at present.

Following Kamneobrabotka 2004, three exhibitions featuring stone have been planned for 2005. Technostone Ukraine 2005 from 15 - 18 February is part of KievBuild 2005, while Primus: Stone & Stoneworking Technologies & Equipment 2005 from 19 - 22 April is a stand-alone show organized by Primus Exhibitions of Germany - details from www.primus-exhibitions.com/primus/de/messen_details. The third show, Stone Processing & Building Ukraine 2005, will be held from 14 - 18 June: details from the Organizing Committee on Tel. +380 44 251 9487.

The Ukrainian Stone Exporters Association was founded in 2003 with the support of the Private Sector Development Project of the Department for International Development (DFID) of the UK. The Association aims to assist foreign companies to identify and work with Ukrainian decorative stone suppliers, and to aid Ukrainian exporters. More details on the website www.stones.com.ua/association.

Extraction

There are about 26 leading quarrying firms in the country. Deposits which do not belong to processing firms export the highest quality blocks. Lower qualities are used in the internal market. Many quarries use individual items of modern Italian, Finnish or Turkish equipment, however due to poor financing and a lack of investment capital, not many have a full set of efficient equipment. This is the reason for the low volume of block extraction compared for example with Italy, Portugal and France.

Processing

There are several hundred stone processing companies in the Ukraine with around 500 involved in export/import operations. They can be divided into three groups:
- large companies having modern Italian, French and German machines: there are about 10 of these;
- medium size companies which are found in almost all regional centres: they number several dozen;
- small companies, usually privately owned and concentrated in the main quarrying areas. They often specialize in a particular product line, such as tombstones, architectural parts, paving setts, etc. - there are hundreds of these.

Exports

According to the State Gemmological Centre of the Ukraine, part of the Ministry of Finances of the Ukraine, 38.349 m3 (100.000 tons approx.) of decorative stone were exported in 2003, for a total value of 16,282 million US $. Of this total 22.304 m3 were raw blocks and 16.045 m3 finished or semi-finished goods. Granite products comprised 55%, gabbro 23% and labradorite 12%. Exports of all types of decorative stone in 2003 were 19% higher than in 2002, whilst 14% more granite blocks were sold.

In 2003 granite blocks were exported from 30 Ukrainian quarries. Principal export destinations were Russia (42%) and Poland (30%). Gabbro blocks came from 16 Ukrainian quarries and were exported to Azerbaijan (40%) and Georgia (35%). Labradorite blocks originated from 12 quarries and were exported mainly to Italy (59%) and the USA (19%).