Greek marble exports weaken in 2025
2025 was a year of challenges for Greek marble exports. Despite the fact that the Greek marble industry ranks second in Europe in terms of its performance in production and distribution of products, a slowdown in exports was recorded in the last year due the complex international environment and the pressure on demand.
Specifically, in the first nine months of 2025, Greece’s total marble exports amounted to 219.1 million euros, while the exported quantity amounted to 549.4 thousand tons. Compared to the corresponding period in 2024, a decrease of 6.6% was recorded in the value of exports, from 234.5 million euros, and a drop of 10.5% in the exported quantity, from 613.9 thousand tons.
This decline brings exports to levels similar to 2023, however, the continuous downward trend recorded in recent years shows that both value and quantity are now approaching the low levels of the 2015–2016 period.
It is noted that the highest point of exports in the 11-year period (2015–2025) was recorded in 2018, when the value of exports exceeded 315 million euros and their quantity was 813 thousand tons, while the lowest point was recorded in 2015, with exports worth 183.3 million euros and a quantity of 527.7 thousand tons.
China and other countries
The decline in marble exports to China is causing major upheavals in the industry. The value of exports to China has fallen to its lowest level in 11 years, while the average price per ton has reached a historic low in the same period. As Greek representatives in the industry emphasized, China’s loss cannot be replaced in either quantity or value.
Alternative markets that are showing an increase are not buying more expensively, nor are they absorbing sufficient quantities. And they warn that “the picture that is emerging is not that of an upgrade in the export profile, but of a gradual slide towards cheaper and less demanding markets. This element carries the risk of the value of Greek marble being downgraded, even beyond the Chinese market, undermining Greece’s position as a supplier of quality raw materials at a global level.”
A number of secondary destinations maintain a stable — and in some cases increasing — participation. However, the strengthening of these markets does not seem to be enough to fill the huge gap left by the decline in Chinese demand.
The volumes and values recorded in the individual destinations, however encouraging they may be in terms of percentage change, remain significantly inferior to those absorbed by China, making their contribution complementary rather than substitutable.
Export Profile
The overall picture of Greek marble exports in the first nine months of 2025 reflected a mixed and complex reality that is in line with the country’s export profile over the last ten years, presenting a clear shift from raw products to processed marbles.
On the one hand, exports of processed products are strengthening in value and average price, confirming the positive dynamics of processed marble. The average price of processed product exports is now at historically high levels, confirming the shift in demand towards more specialized and quality products. In processed marble exports, the increase is mainly qualitative and comes largely from Saudi Arabia, which emerges as a leading market both in value and average price per ton.
On the other hand, exports of raw products are declining in value, quantity and price, bringing the indicators back almost to the levels of 2015–2016. In exports of raw marble, dependence on China remains decisive. However, in terms of quantity, the superiority of raw products remains dominant over time, which highlights the proportionally lower value density per ton. In 2025, raw products represented 73.81% of the exported quantity, while processed products covered 26.19%.
However, the stagnation of the total quantity of exports for a decade reveals a possible limitation in the production or export capabilities of the Greek industry, despite the country’s rich deposits, as evidenced by the quantities of raw exports.
