Indian Ceramic Cos storm world stage

By agencies   |   Monday, 01 August 2005, 19:30 IST
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MUMBAI: The domestic ceramic tile manufacturers are all set to expand their production capacities as the export potential of the Indian ceramic sector is increasing significantly. The Export Import Bank of India has already identified countries like Japan and the US as the potential export targets for advanced ceramic tiles like vitrified tiles. According to Exim Bank officials, the future outlook of the industry seems to be bullish as the thrust shifts to advanced ceramics like vitrified tiles. It has high potential in global markets and finds wide industry application in electronics, automotive and aerospace industries. “The global market for advanced ceramics is growing and countries like Japan and the US dominate the market. In terms of total imports of ceramic tiles, the US is the largest importing country,” a senior Exim Bank official said. Seeing the opportunity, new companies have entered the market for advanced ceramic tiles like vitrified tiles, while existing ceramic tile manufactures are diversifying into the new segment. Like many others, H&R Johnson, a leading player in the branded ceramic segment, has put its thrust in vitrified tiles production. H&R Johnson managing director Vijay Agarwal said that almost 40 percent of total production is geared up to vitrified, while the rest is normal tiles. Vitrified segment is growing at 35 percent a year. Euro Ceramics director Paresh Shah said that the manufacturing process of the vitrified tiles is far more superior than normal ceramic tiles. The vitrified tiles are also homogeneous and consistent in composition. “We have just completed our expansion and increased our capacity from the current 5,000 sq. meters a day to 15,000 a day. We have already started exporting to the US,” said Mr Shah. There is a huge potential in the export market and the market has not been still fully tapped considering the size, diversity and price competitiveness of this sector, he added. The Indian industry is competitive in the global market, including markets of leading importers of advanced ceramic products as well as the major export markets for India, Mr Shah said. “Currently, in terms of exports, Italy tops the charts. The industry has a positive outlook mainly because of booming construction activities and low-interest rate on housing loans,” Mr Shah said. The advanced ceramic industry has witnessed encouraging trends in domestic demand — powered by sustained rise in construction and booming hospitality industry, he added. However, sources from Indian Council of Ceramic and Sanitaryware Association said that stiff competition from China could offset the projected growth in export. Total tiles industry is valued at $909.1 million and 5 percent was exported in 2004. Spain and China were the second and third largest exporters with export volume of 356m sq mt and 100m sq mt, respectively. World production of the total ceramic tiles was 5,904m sq mt at the end of 2002 and China was the largest producer with a total production of 2,100m sq mt. In terms of production, India ranked at the 8th position in the world with a total production of 150m sq mt, which was around 2.5 percent of the global production.

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