Exporting Granite
HS Code : 68022390
From innovative sculptures to classic memorials, Indian granite has fascinated the world with its beauty. Of late, it is also known to be one of biggest staples for kitchen interiors across the globe. But then, not everything is hunky-dory in this industry.
Planning a house renovation? Confused over how to style your kitchen and bathroom? Or thinking of getting some imported polished stone to adorn your house? Well, you might be looking for options abroad to style your home, but the western world is going gaga over Indian granite. In case you are surprised to read this, let us amaze you a bit more!
India, for quite some time now, has enjoyed the position of a world leader in granite exports to the world. Credited for adding unmatched style and elegance to the architecture, the glossy, smooth Indian granite is much more than just a multi-million dollar foreign exchange earner. Indian granite has a proven track record of being extensively used stone material in building classic memorials across the globe – Vietnam War Memorial and Bruce Lee Memorial in Washington DC, Atomic Bomb Victims Memorial at Hiroshima in Japan are a few monuments made of Indian granite. And you thought India was just famous for the Taj Mahal and its white marble!
India is one of the largest producers and exporters of granite in the world. The Rs.25,000 crore granite industry boasts of huge granite reserves, to the tune of 4 trillion cubic metre. The country has one of the largest reserves of granite in the world with deposits available in abundance in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Odisha.
“India has vast resources of granite with more than 100 varieties of different colours mined and explored so far. Out of these 100 varieties, nearly 60 are processed to produce monuments, building slabs, floor tiles and is exported.”
With deposits and varieties in abundance, the granite industry has evolved into an export-thrust sector. According to industry data, about 85-90% of the total granite produced in the country is exported. Granite is exported from India either as crude or raw blocks (HS Code: 25161100), or after cutting into blocks or slabs (HS Code: 25161200), as granite for monumental or building stone (HS Code: 68022390), as polished granite blocks and tiles (HS Code: 68022310) and as carved or processed granite (HS Code: 68029300).
Over the years, India’s granite industry has scaled new heights with exports to the international markets growing by leaps and bounds so much so that India today stands as world’s largest exporter of raw granite (HS Code: 251611) and granite for monumental or building stone (HS Code: 680223). India’s share in world granite exports in these two categories stood at almost 60% in CY2014. What’s more? Exports of granite and products chalked up an impressive Rs.98,507 million in FY2013-14 [as per Federation of Indian Granite & Stone Industry (FIGSI) data].
Interestingly, it’s the monumental granite that India is most famous for across the globe. In fact, India exported over $919 million worth of monumental granite in CY2014 as against the world exports of $1.5 billion during the same year.
Historically, while granite might have been a stone associated with tragic events and the Indian granite, in the past, might have been used in building memorials (Holocaust Memorial Building in USA, Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Victims Memorial in Japan), it is not the case today. Several Indian granite exporters have been shipping their products for building other architectural work. “We did an American Consulate building in Indonesia and we have been supplying our product for the Hilton and Hyatt hotels in Chicago and New York,” says Gautam Chand Jain, CMD, Pokarna Ltd, one of India’s leading exporters of granite.
Ask any home buyer in America about his dream kitchen must-haves and you are likely to hear ‘granite countertops’ in response. Once regarded as a stone to memorialise the worst tragedies, granite today is being used in multifarious projects. And its uses have only increased over the years – as kitchen tops and floor tiles, for house interiors as well as for styling bathrooms and offices. So what accounts for its omnipresence?
The rage for stylish interiors and facades has created a huge demand for this natural stone which comes in variety of shades from creams and blacks to reds and greens – a major feature that has attracted rich and famous to adorn their homes with. It is the hardest of commercially available stones. Besides have smooth surface, it is known for being highly impervasive to oils and other liquids. Also, its resistance to scratching makes it apt for being used for kitchen tops and flooring. And, of course, it is a low-maintenance stone. Theses are certainly reasons enough to add up some action in the granite field!
But that’s not all! Other than enjoying the top position for exports of monumental granite, India is also the biggest exporter of raw granite blocks with China being its biggest export market accounting for nearly 80% of the total raw granite exports from the country. But then, as we all know, the money lies in the value addition. Devesh Dixit, Director of Coromondel Stampings and Stones shares similar sentiments. “All the rough granite is going to China, they do the processing and re-export to other countries. This is how they have grabbed our traditional markets, by value adding,” says Dixit who has been in this industry for the past 25 years.
According to industry players, there is immense potential and demand for the processed granite where China, Brazil and Italy are the biggest players. Going by the industry data, world exports of processed granite in CY2014 stood at over $5.5 billion dollar in which China’s exports were more than $3.5 billion, signifying that there is enough scope for growth for India if it goes for value addition. “The Problem is that China has started exporting cheap granite that resembles Indian granite. The market is highly competitive and if an Indian granite company wants to survive in Oman, it needs to bring attractive products at a very competitive price so that they can cope up with the Chinese competition,” echoes Naveen Mathew Dominic.
Well, the problems do not end here for the domestic players. To add to the trouble, intense competition from a host of countries like China and Brazil and the economic slowdown worldwide has taken a toll on the granite sector. “The real estate business in China is down since one year and it has affected our business. The industry is left to survive by its own. Despite being massive foreign exchange earners, we are not treated at par with other industries. There are internal hurdles such as little government support and competition within the industry. To add to our worries are environmental norms and other mining-related laws. In such scenario how can we make profits,” Narendra Babu Agarwal, Owner of Balaji Granites in Rajasthan’s Jalore district
This apart, factors such as availability of quality blocks as raw material for processing, lack of market research and the use of outdated technology and equipment in mining too have contributed to the grim state. Another grouse of the industry is the inadequate raw material and infrastructure facilities. And then there are reports of scams and human sacrifices hitting the sector hard.
As of now, the only solace for the Indian granite industry is the demand for the Black Galaxy variety in American households. With India being the only place in the entire world to have this stone in its beds, the demand and profits for this masterpiece remain intact.
No doubt India’s granite industry is going through a slump with delays in getting leases, environmental clearances, losing its traditional markets to lesser known countries and weakening global demand, but one is more than sure that the industry won’t be surrendering its arms and lying low for long. All, as of now, it needs to do is move a step or two up the value chain and reverse its fortunes. And it’s really not a difficult task!