Chinese imports are destroying stone companies from the Olomouc region

Olomouc - Chinese imports are destroying stonemasonry companies in the Olomouc Region. Despite the long transport distances, Czech stone is twice as expensive as Asian competition. The Jeseník company Slezský kámen, the largest producer of pavement cubes and stone pavements in the Czech Republic, is feeling the impact of cheap imports from China. This was reported by today's Moravian Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD).
    "I would never have said that Chinese competition would penetrate even the stonemasonry industry. But today, that is the reality. They even import the most ordinary granite cubes to us," said Jiří Pelc, the director of Slezský kámen.
    According to him, there is plenty of stone in China, and it holds a low value. Labor is also cheap there. Ironically, it's even worth their while to transport it. "Stone is basically used as ballast. Ships transporting lightweight goods carry it because it guarantees the desired draft," Pelc explained. According to him, Slezský kámen cannot compete with Chinese imports on price. "For us, quality and the ability to respond quickly and flexibly to customer demands are what matters," Pelc told MfD.
    However, price is what matters to sellers. "I have already encountered Chinese curbstones. They cost half as much as the Czech ones. There is therefore great interest in them, even large construction companies are taking them," said Karel Dolák, who sells paving in Dolany in the Olomouc region. He himself has not yet offered products from China, but knows a lot about them and disagrees with the idea that imported paving stones are of lower quality. "It’s natural stone, there is nothing that can go wrong," Dolák said.