Market evolution: Quartz and quartzite (CN 2506) — 2015–2025

Introduction

This report examines the evolution of the European Union's external trade in quartz and quartzite (Customs code 2506) over the 2015–2025 period. The analysis covers imports, exports, trade balances, partner dynamics, and structural shifts, based exclusively on the provided data. The decade was characterized by robust value growth amidst stagnating or declining traded volumes, a significant reconfiguration of supply sources, and a notable expansion in EU production capacity.

The Price-Volume Divergence: Strong Value Growth Driven by Escalating Unit Prices

The most striking feature of the 2015–2025 period is the pronounced divergence between the evolution of traded volumes and their corresponding monetary value. While the quantity of goods exchanged remained relatively flat or declined, the value of trade surged dramatically, pointing to a sustained period of price inflation across the market.

Import Dynamics: Value Surges as Volume Contracts

EU imports of quartz and quartzite saw their total value nearly double, increasing by 93.6% from €72.5 million in 2015 to €140.4 million in 2025. This occurred while the imported volume contracted significantly by 37.3%, from 567,518 tonnes to 356,028 tonnes. This inverse relationship is explained by a tripling of the average import price, which rose from €127.8 per tonne to €394.2 per tonne (General Overview). This indicates that the EU paid substantially more for fewer physical units, a dynamic likely driven by a combination of global supply constraints, increased input costs, and a shift towards higher-value material sourcing.

Export Resilience: Stable Volumes with Strong Value Appreciation

In contrast, EU exports demonstrated greater volume stability. The exported quantity decreased only marginally by 5.9%, from 461,731 tonnes to 434,360 tonnes. However, export value grew robustly by 88.4%, reaching €62.9 million in 2025, propelled by a doubling of the average export price to €144.8 per tonne. This suggests that EU exporters successfully capitalized on the global price environment, maintaining their sales volumes while significantly improving their revenue per unit (General Overview).

A Widening Trade Deficit in Value Terms

Consequently, the EU's trade deficit in this sector widened considerably. The negative balance grew from -€39.1 million in 2015 to -€77.5 million in 2025, a 98% deterioration. This reflects the amplified impact of rising import prices on the total import bill, outpacing the growth in export earnings despite stable export volumes (General Overview).

Shifting Trade Corridors and Increasing Supplier Concentration

The geographic landscape of EU quartz and quartzite trade underwent a major transformation between 2015 and 2025. Traditional suppliers saw their roles diminish, while new or previously minor partners emerged as dominant forces, leading to a significant increase in import concentration.

The Rise of Brazil and Decline of Traditional Partners

Brazil became the undisputed largest source of EU imports by value, with a 256.2% increase to €84.8 million in 2025, accounting for a substantial share of the total import bill. Conversely, imports from traditional partners like Türkiye (-75.4%), Ukraine (-77.6%), and India (-83.7%) collapsed over the period. Norway also grew in importance, with imports increasing by 332.6% to €24.2 million, becoming the second-largest supplier (General Overview).

Import Concentration Reaches New Highs

This restructuring is quantified by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) for import value, which measures market concentration. The HHI more than doubled, rising from 2,179 in 2015 to 4,389 in 2025, indicating a shift from a moderately concentrated market to a highly concentrated one. This heightened concentration increases the EU's exposure to supply disruptions or price shocks from a small number of key partners, particularly Brazil (Concentration HHI).

Divergent Export Destinations and Volatile Flows

On the export side, Norway remained the primary destination, with exports growing by 74.6% to €27.6 million. Other significant partners like Canada showed strong growth (941%). However, several export relationships were highly volatile, as indicated by high coefficients of variation for flows to countries like Venezuela and the United Kingdom. The market for EU exports thus appears more fragmented and less predictable than its import side (Volatility & Shocks).

Industrial Expansion and Strengthening Domestic Position

Despite the growing trade deficit in value terms, underlying indicators suggest the EU's domestic industrial base for quartz and quartzite expanded substantially, enhancing its long-term strategic position in the market.

Explosive Growth in EU Production

EU production volumes witnessed remarkable growth. Reported production quantity surged by 393.6% from 2.84 billion kg in 2015 to 14.0 billion kg in 2025. Even more striking, the value of production increased by 2,471%, from €53.8 million to €1.38 billion. This indicates not just an expansion in scale but also a significant move up the value chain, with EU producers likely focusing on more processed or higher-specification products (Production Volumes).

Reduced Net Import Reliance and Specialised Members

In line with this production boom, the EU's net import reliance (measured as a percentage of apparent consumption) decreased from 32.8% in 2015 to 25.3% in 2025. The peak reliance was 43.3% in 2021, after which a decline set in (Net Import Reliance). The market structure is characterised by specialised producers within the EU. Italy, Portugal, and the Netherlands show strong Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) scores for this product, suggesting they are key nodes in the European value chain (Specialisation).

Diverging Segment Trajectories: Quartz versus Quartzite

A segment-level analysis reveals distinct paths for the two main sub-products. For imports, the price of "Quartz (excl. sands)" (CN 250610) exploded, rising from €188/tonne to €819/tonne, while its imported volume fell by 65%. Quartzite (CN 250620) imports saw a more moderate price increase but also a volume decline. For exports, the EU maintained substantial volumes of Quartz (CN 250610), though its value fluctuated. The trade in processed Quartzite blocks/slabs (CN 250620) is smaller by volume but commands significantly higher unit prices, indicating its use in higher-value applications (Product Segment Breakdown).

Conclusion

The EU market for quartz and quartzite between 2015 and 2025 was defined by three main dynamics. First, a severe price-volume divergence led to surging trade values despite stagnant or declining physical flows, widening the trade deficit. Second, import sources reconfigured dramatically, with Brazil emerging as the dominant supplier, significantly increasing the concentration and potential vulnerability of the EU's supply chain. Third, and as a countervailing trend, the EU's domestic production base expanded tremendously in both scale and value, reducing net import reliance and suggesting a strengthening industrial foundation, particularly in specialised Member States. The market thus evolved towards greater value intensity, increased dependency on a key non-EU supplier, and simultaneously a more robust domestic production capacity.