Ukraine's international trade in natural stone during the war

Abstract

One of the key areas of industry is the extraction and processing of natural stone, which is marked by a variety of facing materials with a wide range of colours, which are known not only in Ukraine, but also around the world. Currently, out of 255 deposits of stone for facing, 136 are actively used, where various minerals are extracted, such as granite, granodiorite, enderbite, granosienite, sienite, quartz sienite, monzonite, gabbro, anorthosite, labradorite, sandstone, basalt, marble, marbled limestone, limestone, andesite and tuff. Due to the military action, the occupation of part of the territory and the destruction of infrastructure, the possibility of mining and exporting natural stone has significantly decreased. Many natural stone mining and processing plants were destroyed or forced to evacuate, resulting in job losses and reduced budget revenues. Logistical problems related to the blockade of seaports and damage to transport infrastructure significantly complicate and increase the cost of exporting natural stone. The publication found that the export of natural stone to traditional importing countries, such as Russia and Belarus, disappeared, which led to an increase in exports to European countries, but this market has its limitations and requires additional efforts to promote Ukrainian products. New sales markets have been identified, but their potential has not yet been fully revealed. The study showed that the export of natural stone from Ukraine in 2023 increased by 61% compared to 2022. This indicates an increase in demand for Ukrainian natural stone on the world market.

Keywords

• natural stone
• export
• sales markets
• importing countries