Portuguese decorative stone turned to the Chinese market for processing

Abstract Faced with the lingering effects of the European economic crisis, an increasing number of Portuguese decorative stone companies have shifted their focus toward emerging markets, particularly China. In 2011, Portugal’s total stone exports reached 437 million euros, with 54 million euros going to China—an 8% rise compared to the previous year. This growth was even more significant when looking at the two-year trend, as the share of Chinese imports increased by 4.8 percentage points. By the first five months of 2012, exports to China had already hit 27.4 million euros, signaling a strong upward trajectory and suggesting that the annual record might be broken that year. According to data from the Portuguese Foreign Investment and Trade Promotion Agency, China accounted for 18% of Portugal’s stone exports in the first four months of 2012, making it the second-largest market after France (20.2%). As the world's largest producer and consumer of decorative stone, China has become a key player in shaping the export dynamics of this sector in Portugal.