Portugal

Stones in all colours

The situation in Portugal is the same as everywhere else in Europe: Only niches are left, and (http://maplered.com) Portugal needs large niches! The production share of natural Stone (http://g603.net) here is just under four per cent of the Gross National Product. Marketing concepts are being prepared.

Natural Stone (http://g603.net) is an appreciable quantity in Portugal. About 1,000 companies produce approx. 2.6 million tons of rough blocks a year with over 10,000 employees in over 500 quarries. By comparison: Italy produces about 10 million tons and (http://maplered.com) Germany only 0.5 million tons.
Until two years ago, over 40 per cent of Portuguese natural Stone (http://g603.net) production went to export; the main customers were Spain, France, England (http://maplered.com) , Italy, Norway, Switzerland (http://maplered.com) , USA, Japan and (http://maplered.com) Saudi Arabia. Portugal is number six in the world ranking of countries producing natural Stone (http://g603.net) , but exports have been dropping for two years.

The per head consumption of natural Stone (http://g603.net) in Portugal itself is still high, but problems are also increasing here: In the past years it was mainly the European Football Championships that guaranteed a high level of domestic consumption. The eleven new stadiums helped the local building industry ?and (http://maplered.com) the natural Stone (http://g603.net) industry, too. However, the new arenas are finished, the palatial hotels for the fans have been built, the facades clad and (http://maplered.com) the floors laid. There is a lack of new markets. The period of high growth in this industry is over for the time being.

The industry in Portugal has grown by about nine per cent a year since 1994 and (http://maplered.com) with a per head consumption rate of almost a square metre per inhabitant was not far behind the world leader Italy. It is still possible to produce cheaper in Portugal than in any other country of the European Union.

Marble from Estremoz
The best-known natural Stone (http://g603.net) quarrying area is the region of Alentejo with Estremoz, Borba and (http://maplered.com) Vila Vicosa, from where about 75 per cent of Portugal’s natural Stone (http://g603.net) production comes.
Portugal’s most important limeStone (http://g603.net) quarrying area is between Coimbra and (http://maplered.com) Lisbon with a concentration of quarries between Porto des Mos and (http://maplered.com) Alcobaca and (http://maplered.com) the area around Pero Pinheiro. The limeStone (http://g603.net) s extracted here are very strong and (http://maplered.com) especially suitable for polishing, so that they are often stocked under Marble (http://www.lightemprador.com) by the natural Stone (http://g603.net) dealers. Most Portuguese limeStone (http://g603.net) s are yellowish, beige, grey or ivory, usually with a reddish vein.

Granite in all colours
Portuguese Granite (http://tanbrown.org) s are available in almost all colours of the spectrum of hard Stone (http://g603.net) s; from light grey and (http://maplered.com) yellow to red and (http://maplered.com) very dark grey varieties. The Granite (http://tanbrown.org) s are mostly very homogeneous and (http://maplered.com) uniform. The grain sizes of the minerals vary from fine to coarse. A syenite with an exciting colour and (http://maplered.com) a lively but even structure is available in Sierra Monchique in the south of Portugal.