The tile sector expects to close 2023 with a drop in sales between 16 and 20%, a loss of employment of 12% and a drop of 20% in production and demands urgent aid from the Government and the European Union in the face of threats such as the increasing Indian market share. These are data provided yesterday by the president of the tile association Ascer, Vicente Nomdedeu, who assured that the competitive capacity of the sector in recent years has been diminished by the coronavirus crisis, wars, problems in the Suez Canal and the demand crisis in all countries except Spain.
In 2023, sales and employment have fallen, as well as production, which in the last two years has been "in free fall", as he stressed; and a decrease of 20% is estimated since 2021, "around 400 million square meters." In 2021, 580 million square meters were produced.
Regarding market share, the president of the employers' association explained that it remains the same in almost all of them, but Spain improves and takes 25%. For its part, Europe represents 50%; USA 12% and 20% between the Middle East and the Far East.
The competitors, according to Nomdedeu, "remain the same, with all falling, in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Germany", although "Italy is growing a little." With this scenario, the year 2024 is expected to be complicated, which is why the sector demands aid from the Union and the European Union. For Nomdedeu, "the EU's policy is not to help the industry and that of the Government as well."
The president explained that it is necessary to "partner with the countries of the European cluster to be competitive and confront all those countries that have not stopped eating our market and are eating more every day." Secondly, the sector advocates "making the consumer see that we cannot preach one thing and do another", that is, "that we must realize that some comply with the environment, labor rights and the standards of the World Organization Trade and others don't."
Aid is another point, and in this sense Nomdedeu said that they will receive 70 million in aid, while Italy will have more than 600. Therefore, "we will continue asking for what we believe we owe" both in aid and in claim that there is an industrialization plan.
Regarding the challenge of decarbonization, Miguel Nicolás, vice president of the employers' association, clarified that it is emerging as one of the main obstacles since there are factors such as the price of energy and EU regulations that reduce their competitiveness. For the sector to meet the emissions reduction targets through green hydrogen or electrification, the costs would be between 56,000 and 81,000 million. The products would be, with this extra cost, "totally out of the market," he added.
Regarding competitors from outside the EU, Ismael García, also vice president, pointed out that the "anti-dumping" measures imposed on China expired in November 2022 and are now waiting for them to be renewed for 5 more years. India and Turkey, also with "antidumping" measures applied, are the other two countries that threaten the Spanish sector. While Turkey has reduced its sales, "India has not, and it has emerged as a real threat because it is not being able to stop the entry of product."
