The 2015 edition attracted close to 25,000 attendees over its four-day duration.

Among international visitors, the U.S. had the strongest showing with 25%. Italy followed with 14%, as well as China (6%), Mexico (5.5%) and Venezuela (5%). To further break it down by continent, a total of 35.08% of visitors were from North America, 34.64% from Europe, 18.19% from Asia, 10.48% from South America, 1.05% from Central America, 0.93% from Africa and 0.69% from Oceania.

It is expected that the Vitória Stone Fair | Marmomacc Latin America will once again provide a forum for product launches, including many beautiful exotic and specialty stones, as well as classic materials such as granite, marble and slate. Last year’s show featured 420 exhibitors from 126 different countries. Exhibitors hailed from places such as Turkey, Italy, Argentina, Canada, Portugal, China, India and Oman, among others. The fair showed the exuberance and strength of the Brazilian natural stone segment, according to Milanez & Milaneze, the company which organized the event in partnership with the Group VeronaFiere. It is anticipated that the 2016 edition will experience a positive showing.

Developing markets

According to show organizers, the stone exhibition has dedicated a tremendous amount of energy to working with companies in Latin and Central America. The goal is to significantly expand the delegations of buyers and exporters abroad.

Central American countries imported almost $3.5 million of natural stone in the first quarter of 2015 — a growth of 2.3% compared to the previous year. Costa Rica alone imported more than $1 million, and Nicaragua, although representing less than 5% of the exports ($117,500), was the country that showed the largest growth index compared to the previous year – almost 45%.

In South America, the largest buyers were Argentina and Colombia, which imported more than $4 million in the first quarter of 2015. Bolivia is getting special attention considering the increase of 40% of imported Brazilian natural stone.

North America also registered growths of almost 7% in the first quarter. Mexico also had an impressive 14% increase since 2000, and the U.S. is among the main Brazilian stone importers — importing over $410 million in the first quarter of 2015.

According to statistics presented by Vitória Stone Fair | Marmomacc Latin America, U.S. importers represent 25% of all foreign visitors at the Vitória Stone Fair. They come seeking new business opportunities and to take advantage of the favorable export conditions, as well as the strategic location of the event in the port city of Vitória. The capital of Espírito Santo, located in southeastern Brazil, is the most important industrial, commercial and financial region of the country.

Vitória Stone Fair promotes a series of activities to bring buyers from those strategic markets to the event such as promotion in fair catalogs and calendars, specialized publications and international fairs of the sector; sponsoring the MIA Pinnacle Awards and IIDEX Canada (main construction and architecture event in Canada); managing international agents in nine countries; and the “Buyers Club Program,” which brings buyers groups to do business with the exhibitors and technical visits to the quarries in the region. The following is a glimpse of a select few among the numerous stone varieties that will be on display during the 2016 Brazilian show