Cautious optimism at Cevisama

The 2010 edition of Cevisama, the showcase of Spanish ceramic, came to an end last Friday. Although there were fewer visitors than in the past (although more than last year according to many exhibitors), the Spanish ceramic tile producers appear confident about the future.

Compared to 2009 there were more visitors in particular from the Maghreb, the Middle East and South America. At the press conference, Ascer’s management confirmed that the situation will remain difficult in 2010, although they expect the results achieved in 2009 to be maintained. Although the domestic market is showing no signs of recovery, the international markets are slowly picking up. The first positive signs are coming from the Middle East and North Africa and, in Europe, from France and Germany.

According to figures published by Ascer, the Spanish ceramic tile industry suffered a 30% average downturn last year. Sales fell by a total of 29% as a combined effect of the sharp contraction (-25%) of international markets (the main outlet for Spanish tiles, exports to a total of 180 countries accounting for 65% of turnover), and an even larger fall in the domestic market (-35.6%) due to the paralysis of the construction market, which is paying the price of record growth in past years. As a result, production dropped by 35% to 323 million sq.m.

The fact that turnover fell less than output is attributable to the growing popularity of Spanish products in international markets, which in some areas enabled selling prices to be increased, now on average around 7-8 euro per sq.m.