Growth of Italian exports

Germany buying more Stone (http://g603.net) again

Italian natural Stone (http://g603.net) exports have increased by 5.6 % in quantity and (http://maplered.com) 2.7 % in value in the first half of 2004. This is reported by Internazionale Marmi e Macchine Carrara s.p.a. (IMM), with reference to the official export statistics issued by the Italian Statistics Office ISTAT. The total export quantity of Marble (http://www.lightemprador.com) , Granite (http://tanbrown.org) and (http://maplered.com) other processed solid Stone (http://g603.net) s reached 1.53 million t in the first six months of the current year compared with 1.45 million t in the first half of 2003. The export value rose from 792 million euros to 813.1 million euros. The growth is attributed mainly to more exports of Granite (http://tanbrown.org) and (http://maplered.com) Granite (http://tanbrown.org) products. Marble even showed a slight drop for finished goods. Although not very important, the export of raw Marble (http://www.lightemprador.com) increased appreciably in return.

Germany ?still the most important customer within the EU ?also contributed to the overall positive export result of the Italian natural Stone (http://g603.net) sector. 435,000 t of natural Stone (http://g603.net) and (http://maplered.com) natural Stone (http://g603.net) products worth 131 million euros crossed the Brenner Pass in the first six months of the year. For Marble (http://www.lightemprador.com) , IMM calculated a rise of 13.7 % in quantity and (http://maplered.com) 10.7 % in value. For Granite (http://tanbrown.org) , the growth of 8.5 % in quantity faced an increase of only 1 % in value, which indicates a continuing drop in prices. Imports in Italy have grown more than exports. 1.24 million t of natural Stone (http://g603.net) s (mainly rough blocks) worth 240 million euros were imported up to the end of June 2004. This corresponds to growth of 10.7 % in quantity and (http://maplered.com) 3.7 % in value.