Natural Stones
Türkiye has a rich potential in terms of natural stone resources, consisting of various colors and patterns of crystalline limestone (marble), limestone, travertine formation limestone (onyx), conglomerate, breccia, and igneous rocks (granite, syenite, diabase, diorite, serpentine, etc.) due to its geological structure. In our country, there are a total of 7.8 billion cubic meters of natural stone resources, including 4 billion cubic meters of exploitable marble, 2.8 billion cubic meters of exploitable travertine, and 1 billion cubic meters of granite reserves. Furthermore, it is known that our country possesses approximately 45.75 billion tons of reserves, which account for 40% of the world's natural stone reserves.
The most well-known marble varieties produced in our country and recognized in the international market are: Süpren, Elazığ Vişne, Akşehir Siyah, Manyas Beyaz, Bilecik Bej, Kaplan Postu, Denizli Travertine, Ege Bordo, Milas Leylak, Gemlik Diabase, and Afyon Şeker.
In 2022, a total of 16.006 million tons of natural stone were produced in our country. This production consisted of 73.8% marble, 18.0% travertine, 2.8% granite, 2.0% basalt, 1.3% andesite, 0.9% mosaic+slate, 0.59% building stone, 0.45% ignimbrite, 0.11% onyx, 0.06% diabase, and 0.03% serpentine.
When comparing Türkiye's natural stone trade in 2022 with 2021, our exports increased by 0.19%, while our imports increased by 4.49%. Additionally, the natural stone exports in 2022 accounted for 32% of the total mining exports, placing it in second position in terms of overall mining exports.
In 2022, processed natural stone products accounted for approximately 68.08% of our natural stone exports, while block products accounted for 31.92%. The leading country in terms of natural stone exports in 2022 was the United States with 459.66 million dollars. It was followed by China with 418.81 million USD, India with 135.84 million USD, Israel with 110.38 million USD, and Iraq with 110.16 million USD, respectively
Date of Update: 22 June 2023
The details presented here have been prepared with the aim of informing the users of the website of our Ministry, and do not possess the characteristics of official binding documents.