The Ascer employer assumes the fall of the United Kingdom after Brexit as safe. They ask for the involvement of governments and ‘monocolor’ in the portfolios of the Economy.
A few days after knowing the report of the firm KPMG on the Spanish tile sector, which mentioned the concern of some entrepreneurs for the improvement of rates in the case of the Italian product when betting on multi localization, from the Ascer tile employer They showed on Wednesday that, precisely, a more moderate price is boosting Spanish ceramics in strategic markets such as Germany or the United States over its main European competitor.
This was explained by the president of the business association, Vicente Nomdedeu, during the presentation of the results of the sector at the end of 2018 and related to the first quarter of this year in Madrid. “The Spanish tile has gained share in Italy to Germany and the United States, mainly the latter, since in Germany it is more complicated because it was a very Italian market niche,” Nomdedeu said, stressing that “that has been possible thanks to a production very efficient and at a moderate price but of great quality and design, characteristics that differentiate us from Italy.
In fact, the United States led to an increase in exports by country over the past year. Tile of Spain sold 259.4 million euros to this country, more than 25 million more than a year earlier. For its part, Germany increased its imports by 8.1 million euros, placing its purchases at a sum of 103.3 million throughout 2018. The US revalidated its second position in the commercial classification table of the tile, while Germany occupied the fifth position.
BREXIT
When addressing threats from the export sector, Nomdedeu emphasized the danger that Brexit will pose. “The English are afraid of a hard Brexit, because they have made a great investment in our products to offer them in their proposals and catalogs, and from the ‘Brexit’ export to the United Kingdom will be complicated,” Nomdedeu lamented, arguing that Ascer takes for granted a ‘flat tire’ in sales to this country, the third sector customer that imported for 168.6 million euros in 2018. So much so that at the end of the first quarter of this year the United Kingdom has increased its ceramic imports by 10 per one hundred year-on-year, trying to collect before the separation of the EU takes shape.
Nomdedeu also stressed that Europe and the US continue to be the strategic markets of the sector and, therefore, multilocalization does not have as much prominence, as it would have in the case of prioritizing sales to Asian countries. In addition, the president of Ascer said that “over the years more anti-dumping files will be added because more and more pottery is produced and more protection is sought from the competition. 90 percent of the tile is not made in Europe “, referring to open processes in countries such as those that make up the Persian Gulf against the Chinese, Spanish and Indian tiles.
ON THE FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT IN SPAIN
On the other hand, Ascer did not hesitate to hide his expectations for what is happening in Moncloa and the Generalitat Valenciana. Nomdedeu recalled that the sector needs a real industrial plan, which is aimed at improving the weight of the industry in the Spanish economy and help companies to reduce costs. «We trust governments, but they must bet on actions and not just words. And if they transcribe that regulation with our help, the better, ”said the president of Ascer.
Among other measures, Nomdedeu highlighted the creation of a statute of gas-intensive consumers and a regulatory framework that provides stability to cogeneration plants that add 25 years of useful life (and stop receiving state aid for their activity). In this sense, Nomdedeu avoided ruling on the political pacts that are taking place at the state level and in the Valencian Community but did consider that the departments or portfolios (that is, counsellers, General Secretariats or Ministries) must be led by political parties of a single color, to avoid complications.