This success is a source of pride

Extraordinary. That’s how we define the year 2020. A nightmare emerging in a natural stone giant such as China spread around the world and forced us to stay home until the normalization process. We’ve been through hard times. That’s for sure. However, we were surprised when we received the export figures for these troubling days. Mevlüt Kaya, president of Aegean Mineral Exporters’ Association is also surprised. Evaluating the statistics about 2020, this experienced name in the sector shared his expectations for 2021.

Kaya, “Mining sector had a lot of problems in the first days of the pandemic after China stopped importing. In May it got slightly better. When we remember those first days we understand how the export figures of 2020 are important. Our total natural stone export decreased by 7%. Despite the decrease, our processed product export surpassed the $1 billion barrier with an increase of 1%. Our virtual trade committees, Amorf Natural Stone Competition and scholarships provided to the students studying mining engineering prove the devotion of our sector in this hard period, which is exactly what our motto suggests.

Mentioning the Aegean Mineral Exporters’ Association too, Kaya said, “Our members at EMİB are the leaders in Turkey with a total export of $582 million. And $426 million of this amount was earned from processed product export. Our members, who earned 73% of their total income over processed products, deserve credit. For me, this success is a source of pride. I believe that many sectors will try to meet their delayed needs in 2021, which will increase our export.”