Natural building stone market in Ukraine

Abstract

Background. Ukraine is one of the leading mineral raw materials country in the world. The stocks of natural stone building materials are of great economic importance. This makes an analysis of the state of production of natural stone materials and their market development trends in Ukraine a promising direction of research.
The aim of the article is to analyze the current state of natural building stone market in Ukraine.
Material and methods. While researching the general scientific and special methods of analysis and synthesis, systematic approach, comparison and synthesis were used.
Results. The dynamics of the natural stone production in 2014–2016 is characterized by a decline. The volume of its production in 2016 amounted to 23.96 thousand m³. The production of natural facing stone is stable and in 2016 it was 453.2 thousand m³. The largestquantity facing stone was produced in the Zhytomyr region (390.13 thousand m³), where most of its deposits are concentrated.
The production of sawn stone predominantly represented in Ukraine by limestone (95.5 %) showed ten times decrease in 2014–2016 and reached 21.9 thousand m³ in 2016. The lack of access to the limestone deposits in the Crimea (the main region of limestone mining) led to a large reduction in its production. As a result, there have been significant changes in the regional structure of their production with concentration in the western regions.
Import of limestone in 2015–2017 grew significantly in conditions of its deficit. Ukraine imported 1.84 million tonnes of limestone in 2017, it was on 47.2 % more than in 2016. And the export of limestone from Ukraine was practically absent in 2015–2017. Imports of other natural stone materials also changed. Imports of marble dropped to 0.78 thousand tons in 2017. Exports of marble were practically absent. The volumes of imports into Ukraine of gypsum and anhydrite did not exceed 5 thousand tons in 2014–2016.
Gypsum and anhydrite, as well as granite, basalt and sandstone predominated in the structure of exports of natural stone materials. The average annual export of granite, basalt, and sandstone is 73 thousand tons. The volume of exports of gypsum and anhydrite is slightly lower and averages 56.3 thousand tons per year.
Conclusion. The current state of natural building stone market in Ukraine is characterized by a decrease in the volume of their extraction. The annexation of the Crimea and military actions in the East of Ukraine, which were the main regions for limestone, granite, and sandstone production, significantly affected the volume of the market, provoking a sharp decline and a shortage of stone. Redistribution of market logistics with an orientation towards the West region has taken place. On the one hand, it opens opportunities for Western companies. On the other hand, the implementation of such a strategic goal requires the improvement of the technical level of production, for which it is necessary to initiate and implement innovative and investment projects.