The Xiamen Stone fair, held annually from 6 to 9 March in the Chinese city, has always been an important indicator of the situation of the natural stone industry, not just in China but also in other countries. Normally held soon after the Chinese New Year, with the winter almost over in the northern hemisphere, it is especially important for the sellers of blocks, both marble and granite. During the 4 days duration of the fair those in mining of stone get a fairly reliable indication of what demand for their materials will be in the months ahead.

Portugal has some of the most popular and well considered ornamental limestones in the market and among the most in demand are those in basically beige tones. This article highlights 3 of the most well known beige limestones from the country.

MOCA CREMA LIMESTONE

Quarries and factories

The Holy Church Cathedral Metropolitan Basilica

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Most people in the world of stone and others too normally associate Macael in the province of Almeria with the multinational Cosentino, which has its headquarters and main manufacturing units located there. Often overshadowed, not very well known outside Spain, there also exists another very sophisticated industry in the area of craftsmanship in marble with a great tradition going back centuries.

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.

Porcelain, compact quartz, agglomerates… these new hard surfaces appeared in the building market just three decades ago and their extraordinary evolution, both technological as well as in marketing has meant they have succeeded in establishing in all the world markets and in applications that, till recently, were almost exclusive to natural stone.

The fair Rocalia, held last December, 2017 in Lyon (France), served as a window to creativity and new applications in natural stone. One of these applications is furniture in homes. Both the exhibitions organised by the fair and some stands in the fair showed interesting creations that we highlight here.

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