VALENCIA, SPAIN -- The crisis in the ceramic industry has led Feria Valencia to cancel Cevisama, the international ceramic and bathroom exhibition, which was scheduled from June 13 to 17, 2022. The show is already re-scheduled for February 27 to March 3, 2023. The Feria Valencia organizing committee made the decision because of the huge uncertainty and unpredictable outcomes following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
 The war has exacerbated the energy crisis that ceramic manufacturers have been having to deal with since the middle of last year. With the outbreak of war, the prices of gas have spiked sharply, and the industry, which is gas intensive, is already seeing stoppages in production and adjustments to the workforce in the form of furloughs (ERTE). 

In addition to the prohibitive cost of energy, other factors are making the industry crisis even more complicated. This includes the supply of clay -- most of which comes from Ukraine -- and the general increase in the costs of other raw materials and logistics. The sector has also lost the Russian market, which was the 12th largest export market for Spanish ceramic last year.
 Given the context, and even though there had been a very positive response to the fair from the demand side of the business with 25% more visitors pre-registering than for previous editions,  exhibitors had been pulling out of the commercial showcase to the point that it was no longer sufficiently attractive to warrant the fair taking place.