DOHA: The massive growth in the construction sector in the country has led to increased imports of marble. Imports of the stone were valued at QR200m in 2006, a figure that is expected to rise to QR230m by the end of this year. And the market will continue to grow.
Tariq H Mustafa, Senior Trade Analyst with the Italian Trade Commission in Dubai told The Peninsula yesterday: "Qatar imports most of its marble from Oman and Iran. Other countries from where marble is sourced are Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey and Egypt."
Most of the marble is being used in the many high-rise building popping up around the city, star hotels, palaces, luxury residences and mosques. All marble here is imported as the stone does not occur here naturally. However, polishing and finishing work is carried out here once the marble is imported in slab form.
Mustafa was part of a delegation that has come from Italy. They were here to address a seminar titled 'Italian Technological Development in Machinery for Extracting and Processing Natural Stone' held at the InterContinental Hotel. Though there is not much use for the technology here, the seminar served as an educational exercise for importers and construction companies here allowing them to gain insight into the industry.
The seminar covered techniques on extraction of marble and the subsequent cutting into slabs or tiles. Among the ways marble can be cut is by the diamond wire technique, water jets or the old technology of using disc plates, said Mustafa.
Oman is known for the beige stone, Iran (yellow) and Italy (white), rose and other coloured marble. "There is no shortage of marble in the market. It comes to you as you order it with delivery times being from three to four months," said Mustafa.
The largest importers in the GCC are Saudi Arabia, followed by the UAE and Kuwait. Pricing depends on the variety of stone and is sold by weight. "Prices have been relatively stable and do not fluctuate, unlike oil for example," said the official.
While marble has health benefits as opposed to carpets in that it does not absorb dust, perhaps the only negative point is that marble flooring can become awfully cold in the winter months.
"Marble signifies luxury. When it comes to other stones, the difference is like between gold and copper," stated Mustafa.
© The Peninsula 2007
