The ceramic tile industry in Egypt

07/07/03 - Up until the mid 1980s, Egypt depended entirely on imports for its ceramic products (tiles and sanitaryware). Since then local production has grown rapidly, largely through the proliferation of new private companies which have rapidly gained substantial market shares.
Today the market is dominated by about ten companies and total production amounts to about 62 million square metres (50 million in 2000).

These are the figures that emerge from a report entitled "Surveying the ceramic industry in Egypt and the related technology", commissioned by Ice (Italian Trade Commission) and Acimac (Italian ceramic plant and machinery manufacturers' association) from Fiani & Partners and presented in March this year.

According to interviews with distributors, domestic production covers about 85% of ceramic tile demand in Egypt (totalling about 43 million square metres). Contractors and architects set this figure rather lower, at 75%.
The main exporter countries to Egypt are Italy and Spain, whose products are highly esteemed for their design and advanced technology. Nonetheless, local products are highly competitive due to their high technical characteristics, low costs and good aesthetic qualities.

Tile sales are currently falling due to the country's general economic stagnation.
However, the building industry appears likely to grow over the next two years, particularly in the medium and low level residential segment, partly due to government measures to boost the industry. Resorts and hotels on the other hand will experience a further slowdown because the tourist building market is already saturated.

As regards technology, the Ice/Acimac survey revealed a predominance of machinery and equipment from Italy, popular with Egyptian tile manufacturers due to its high level of technology, reasonable costs and ease of availability of spare parts, as well as the good after-sales service provided by suppliers.

The in-focus section contains a table with the top ten Egyptian ceramic tile manufacturers.

A more detailed analysis of the Ice/Acimac market survey was published in issue 52 of Ceramic World Review at the end of June.

Summaries of previous Ice/Acimac statistical surveys on Iran, Poland and Russia will soon be available on CWW.

The major Egyptian ceramic tile manufacturers

Source: "Surveying the ceramic industry in Egypt and the related technology" (Ice-Acimac)