Drama hosts the 8th Global Stone Congress, the world’s leading forum on natural stone, innovation, and sustainable use, running through Friday, June 20.
The wider region (Drama, Kavala, Thassos) is one of the most important geological and productive poles in the world in the white marble sector, where 70% of the marble quarries nationwide are located, in which over 90% of the primary value is mined.
The exports of the marble sector, which essentially reflect its revenues, amounted to 322 million euros in 2024 compared to 312 million euros in 2023. In the first quarter of 2025, the sector recorded exports of 60.5 million euros compared to 65.5 million euros in the corresponding quarter of 2024.
According to the President of the Association of Macedonia-Thrace Enterprises (SEMMTH), George Lianos, “Greece is consistently ranked in the top five in the marble export sector worldwide. This superiority is linked to a multifactorial environment, which is marked by the quality, reputation and uniqueness of Greek marbles, the know-how of marble mining and processing, which is at a top level, the flexibility and adaptability of businesses to the demands of the global market.”
As the sector’s export data shows, China is the largest absorption market for Greek raw marbles and the percentage of total exports has amounted to 30% lately, reaching 100 million euros on an annual basis. The list includes, based on turnover, Saudi Arabia, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Finally, Cyprus, India, Qatar, Algeria, Australia, Italy and Vietnam also contribute.
According to Lianos, “every year exports are made to approximately 110 countries, while in the last 5 years approximately 150 different countries have imported Greek marble. The challenge, however, is not only to find new markets, but also to develop existing ones.”
