The Ministry for Sustainable Economy, ProductionSectors, Trade and Work and Feria Valencia have boosted their support for the Cevisama trade fair, set to take place next February, with an investment 1 million euros. The funds will dedicated exclusively to the international guest buyer initiative (28.09.2022).
The announcement was made by minister Rafa Climent and Feria Valencia’s managing director director Enrique Soto, during their visit to the companies from the Comunitat Valenciana that were exhibiting at Cersaie, the International Fair for Ceramic Tiles and Bathroom Equipment that took place this week in Bologna (Italy).
Climent underscored the Ministry for Sustainable Economy’s ongoing support for an industry that has managed to restructure itself and is still one of the spearheads of Spanish exports whilst engaged in tackling a complex situation brought about by the energy crisis.
“We want to stand by this industry and, to that end, we want to strengthen the vehicle that Cevisama already is for projecting the perception of our companies, outside of Spain, as international benchmarks in the ceramic tile sector”, explained Climent, adding that this is why “we will be setting in motion the most ambitious international guest buyer programme in the history of Cevisama, our aim being to generate business opportunites for the companies exhibiting so they can increase the volumes of their international sales”.
Feria Valencia’s managing director, for his part, pointed out that the effort being invested this year in recruiting quality foreign visitors is key to the fair’s success. “Cevisama has always been a point of reference in terms of the international nature of the demand side of the show”, he explains. “And we need to continue to work along those lines to further boost development of international business for exhibitors, the majority of which are companies based in the Comunitat Valenciana”. In recent editions of the fair, foreign visitors have comprised around 25% of the total and have come from more than 150 countries.
The Minister for Sustainable Economy underscored the significance of the ceramic industry’s contribution to the Comunitat’s economy and its exports. “The tile sector accounts for more than 12% of the Comunitat’s exports, which is an indicator of how significant a part the sector plays and how we need to work together – the authorities, companies and employees – to make it even stronger”, he said.
Rafa Climent toured the stands of the companies from the Comunitat Valenciana, accompanied by the director general for international development, María Dolores Parra and Feria Valencia’s managing director, Enrique Soto. The party also included the presidents of ASCER, Vicente Nomdedeu Lluesma, and ANFFEC, Fernando Fabra.
Tile of Spain was represented by 140 Spanish companies, 60% of which are based in the Comunitat Valenciana.
The Minister encouraged the companies exhibiting to apply for the support that the international development department offers for promotion abroad and that covers up to 50% of the cost of participating in fairs such as Cersaie and Cevisama, along with other costs associated with international promotion.
The sector’s exports
The tile industry’s international trade remains on an upward trend. Over January-July this year, exports of ceramic products from the Comunitat Valenciana hit 2,799.3 million euros in value terms, a 36.7% increase over the same period last year.
By country, the main destinations of ceramic exports from the Comunitat have been France (+28%), follwed by the United States (+68.6%) and the United Kingdom and Israel, which were up 39.7% and 61.5% respectively.
