(Mar. 23) - During 2011, Italy exported more than four million tons of marble, granite, travertine and other stones, raw or processed, granulated and powders, with a decrease of -3.22%, for a total value of over 1.6 billion, and with an increase of the overall value of +4.26%. These are the figures released by the Internazionale Marmi and Macchine Carrara, through its Research Department, which has been compiling ISTAT statistics for the 2011. Italian sector exports suffered the political situation in North Africa, particularly in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, while exports to Algeria and Morocco increased both in quantity and value, representing the 53% of stone export to the whole African area. Saudi Arabia deserves a special mention: thanks to the rising price of oil, the country has bought Italian marble and granite for 161,893 tons (+28.9%) and for an equivalent of almost 70 million euros (+41.45%). (Ram/Peg)

ITALY'S IMPORT ARE DROPPING OFF
The assessment on imported Italian marble and granite is crucial to evaluate the companies' decisions to integrate stocks according to market expectations. During 2011, Italian imports registered a decline for all items with the exception of finished granite products. It is the result of orders' stagnation that pushes Italian companies not to make purchases unless absolutely necessary: the effect of the 2011 crisis, which involved all the fields, has severely affected the building sector, as reported by the ANCE. Overall Italian imports of stone materials amounted to 1,752,000 tons for a total of 420 million euros and with a decrease of -4.1% in terms of both quantity and value.