Report Brief - South Africa Marble Import Sector

Since 2010, the global natural stone industry has experienced significant growth. According to a report by Grand View Research, the sector was valued at $47-billion and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.7% until 2030. 
 
However, in South Africa, the marble industry has experienced considerable decline in recent years. This is likely to be because of a series of factors including the increased importation of competitor products, the increasing volume of local granite production, weakening of the local construction sector and a steadily weakening local currency. Nevertheless, factors such as a sustained demand for residential, commercial, and industrial buildings, as well as a growing middle class, have contributed to the industry's continued long-term existence, in spite of its decline. 

ItalCham has explored the feasibility of importing marble slabs from Italy to South Africa. This research showed that there is an established marble sector in the country which presents ongoing opportunities that however hampers new entrants owing to the maturity of the sector and a relatively small consuming middle class.
 
A robust ecosystem exists in South Africa which facilitates the delivery of final marble products. There are a considerable number of fabricators involved in cutting and handling marble slabs, as well as a number of companies involved in the export of marble to parts of sub-Saharan Africa. 

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When considering the marble sector, it is important to take into account the various competitor products that exist including engineered stone and porcelain. In terms of dimension stone, which is the broad term for products such as marble and granite, 87.7-million tons of locally produced quarry products, with a value of R 9.5-billion, were sold in South Africa in 2018. Furthermore, in terms of granite alone, local production is estimated to be a total of 800-thousand tons per year . While South Africa has an established local sector for quarrying and is well developed in the field of dimension stone, very little marble is actually produced locally and all marble is imported.

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As can be seen in the below table, Italy is among the countries with the largest quantities of marble exported to South Africa, holding a 21,5% percent market share in terms of value and is the top of the pile for the highest unit value. The average selling price of marble during 2023 from Italy was around $1 859 per ton, while the average price from the world is $951 per ton. This is further confirmation that the quality and value of Italian products are recognized in South Africa, with people willing to pay a premium for the product.

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Two HS codes  were considered for this research, in consultation with marble importers: 680291 and 680221.

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South Africa’s overall marble imports have steadily dropped over the last 15 years, having reached a peak during the mid-2000s when large constructions for the world cup were underway and when the rand was stronger, stimulating demand and favouring imports. South Africa is not a comparatively large importer of marble, representing only 0.1% of world imports for these products and ranking 66th in world imports.  

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Overall prices for the material have also risen steeply over the last inflation-heavy years, increasing by more than 20% across the board. A major factor influencing imports across the board is the strength of South Africa’s local currency. Since 2007 a strong negative correlation has persisted between South Africa’s Rand-Dollar Exchange rate and its imports of marble. Correlation does not necessarily mean causation and several other factors should be considered as influencing marble imports including local production of substitutes, import of substitutes and the strength of the local construction sector  .