Key facts

The European Union (EU) ceramic industry is an integral part of the Community’s economics structure, and is perhaps one of the area’s oldest industries. It covers a wide range of sub-sectors ranging from the more traditional (tableware, wall and floor tiles) to the more high-tech (technical and refractory ceramics).

The EU ceramic industry is a world leader in producing value added, uniquely designed high quality ceramic products manufactured by flexible and innovative companies, mainly SMEs. The ceramics industry represents an annual turnover of around € 30 billion, accounting for approximately 25% of the global production, and around 350,000 jobs throughout the EU. 

The major producing  countries in the EU are Italy, Spain, Germany, the UK and France. Production in the new Member States  of the EU appears to be strongest in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary, which all have strong ceramics sectors and have traditionally exported to other EU countries.

The EU ceramic industry is export oriented with 30% of its productions sold outside the EU market. It is generally competitive both domestically and on international markets. However, since the last decade the market situation has changed considerably with the rise of low-cost products from new competitors in emerging and developing countries (China, Brazil, India, United Arab Emirates) while persisting trade barriers prevent effective access to important new markets.