The EU market for building blocks and bricks of cement, concrete or artificial stone was estimated at approx. $3.8B in 2021. This figure reflects the total revenues of producers and importers (excluding logistics costs and intermediaries' margins, which will be included in the final consumer price). France, Germany and Poland constituted the countries with the highest levels of market value in 2021, together comprising 48% of the total market. REQUEST FREE DATA
Consumption by Country
Total volume of cement building blocks consumed in the European Union totaled approx. 50M tonnes in 2021. The countries with the highest consumption volumes were France, Poland and Germany, together comprising 50% of total consumption. The Netherlands, Ireland, Romania, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Slovakia and Hungary lagged somewhat behind, together accounting for a further 42%. REQUEST FREE DATA
EU Concrete Block Production
Production of building blocks and bricks of cement, concrete or artificial stone was estimated at approx. 50M tonnes in 2021. The countries with the highest outputs were France, Poland and Germany, with a combined 52% share of total production. These countries were followed by the Netherlands, Ireland, Romania, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Hungary and Slovakia, which together accounted for a further 42%. REQUEST FREE DATA
EU Concrete Block Exports
In 2021, after two years of decline, there was significant growth in overseas shipments of building blocks and bricks of cement, concrete or artificial stone, when their volume increased by 13% to 4M tonnes. This figure includes trade volumes between the EU countries and shipped outside the EU. The total export volume increased at an average annual rate of +2.6% from 2011 to 2021.
In value terms, exports surged to $534M in 2021. This figure includes trade between EU member countries. The total export value increased at an average annual rate of +3.0% from 2011 to 2021.
Exports by Country
In 2021, Germany (1.3M tonnes) and the Netherlands (1M tonnes) were the main exporters of building blocks and bricks of cement, concrete or artificial stone in the European Union, together resulting at near 59% of total supplies. It was distantly followed by Belgium (319K tonnes), achieving an 8.1% share of total exports. Poland (142K tonnes), Estonia (139K tonnes), Hungary (131K tonnes), Ireland (127K tonnes), Slovakia (125K tonnes), Italy (121K tonnes), the Czech Republic (117K tonnes), France (77K tonnes), Latvia (62K tonnes) and Bulgaria (61K tonnes) followed a long way behind the leaders.
In value terms, the largest building blocks and bricks of cement, concrete or artificial stone supplying countries in the European Union were Germany ($156M), the Netherlands ($122M) and Belgium ($46M), with a combined 61% share of total exports. Italy, Estonia, Poland, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Hungary, Bulgaria and Latvia lagged somewhat behind, together comprising a further 31%.
Ireland, with a CAGR of +66.6%, saw the highest growth rate of the value of exports, among the main exporting countries over the past decade. Shipments for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.
Export Prices by Country
In 2021, the average export price for building blocks and bricks of cement, concrete or artificial stone in the European Union amounted to $135 per tonne, rising by 6.4% against the previous year. Prices varied noticeably by the country of origin: the country with the highest price was Italy ($339 per tonne), while Hungary ($66 per tonne) was amongst the lowest. From 2011 to 2021, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Belgium (+4.6%), while the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.
EU Concrete Block Imports
In 2021, the amount of building blocks and bricks of cement, concrete or artificial stone imported in the European Union rose rapidly to 3.6M tonnes, with an increase of 10% compared with the previous year's figure. This figure includes trade volumes between the EU countries and shipped outside the EU. Total imports indicated a temperate expansion from 2011 to 2021: its volume increased at an average annual rate of +3.8%.
In value terms, imports surged to $454M in 2021. This figure includes trade between EU member countries. Total imports indicated a temperate increase over the past decade: its value increased at an average annual rate of +3.8%.
Imports by Country
In 2021, the Netherlands (838K tonnes), distantly followed by Belgium (516K tonnes), Lithuania (413K tonnes), Poland (220K tonnes), Denmark (219K tonnes) and Romania (182K tonnes) represented the main importers of building blocks and bricks of cement, concrete or artificial stone, together achieving 66% of total purchases. France (158K tonnes), Luxembourg (152K tonnes), Slovakia (139K tonnes), Latvia (110K tonnes), Germany (108K tonnes), Austria (105K tonnes) and the Czech Republic (94K tonnes) occupied a relatively small share of total imports.
In value terms, the Netherlands ($113M) constitutes the largest market for imported building blocks and bricks of cement, concrete or artificial stone in the European Union, comprising 25% of total supplies. The second position in the ranking was occupied by Belgium ($33M), with a 7.4% share of total imports. It was followed by France, with a 7.3% share.
In the Netherlands, imports of building blocks and bricks of cement, concrete or artificial stone increased at an average annual rate of +5.0% over the period from 2011-2021. The remaining importing countries recorded the following average annual rates of imports growth: Belgium (+0.7% per year) and France (-1.2% per year).
Import Prices by Country
The average import price for building blocks and bricks of cement, concrete or artificial stone in the European Union stood at $125 per tonne in 2021, increasing by 7.4% against the previous year. There were significant differences in the average prices amongst the major importing countries. In 2021, the country with the highest price was France ($211 per tonne), while Lithuania ($60 per tonne) was amongst the lowest.
From 2011 to 2021, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Slovakia (+4.3%). The other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.
About IndexBox
IndexBox is a market research firm developing an AI-driven market intelligence platform that helps business analysts find actionable insights and make data-driven decisions. The platform provides data on consumption, production, trade, and prices for more than 10K+ different products across 200 countries.
