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[April 2003]
Cracks Show in UK China & Earthenware
Figures released on 25 March 2003 by market intelligence provider Key Note indicate that the UK market for china and earthenware in 2002 was worth £1.29 billion, having grown by 6.1% since 1998, However, this growth is mainly due to competition from an increasing range of good quality, reasonably priced imported goods rather than the expansion of domestic production.The market report, entitled 'China and Earthenware', looks at the market for china, hard porcelain, stoneware and earthenware designed as tableware, ovenware, kitchenware, ornamental ware and giftware. It found that household expenditure on semi-durable goods amounted to £73.7 billion in 2001. Glassware, tableware (which includes china and earthenware) and household utensils made up 5.8% of this total figure.
The report says that the UK ceramic industry employs around 42,000 people. Just over 26,000 of these are employed in the production of ceramic tableware and giftware. A further 5,000 are individual craft potters. There is a shortage of skills in an industry that has suffered from a poor image and a sense of pessimism. Some companies have been forced to make large numbers of redundancies and the work that they do offer is insecure and unpredictable, making it an unattractive area of employment. Additionally, many companies have invested in automated plant and equipment, enabling a change to shiftwork, for which it is difficult to recruit.
According the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 310 manufacturers of ceramic household and ornamental articles were registered for VAT in the UK in 2002, compared with 325 in 2001. This decrease in numbers follows a well established trend. In 1998, before the last major downsizing in the industry, there were 375 enterprises. It should be remembered, however, that there exist a significant number of craft operations whose turnover will not have necessitated their registration for VAT.
The ovenware, tableware and kitchenware is reported to have accounted for £905 million of the 2002 sales figure, while ornamental ware sales were worth £389 million.
The report says that while the UK has traditionally had a trade surplus in this area, it is rapidly diminishing. In 1996, for example, the UK exported £216.3 million more china and earthenware than it imported. By 2001, this surplus had shrunk to just £38.9 million.
EU countries accounted for 35.6% of all china and earthenware imports in 2001, compared with 37.6% in 2000 and almost 43% in 1999. Portugal was the main exporter into the UK followed by Germany and Italy. Non-EU countries accounted for the remaining 64.4% of imports, with China and Thailand being the leading exporters to the UK.
The total value of UK exports of china and earthenware fell by 5.5% between 2000 and 2001, from £288.7 million to £272.7 million. Worst affected were exports to EU countries, which fell by 9% over the period. However, the UK increased its exports of china and earthenware to its two most important EU markets - Eire and Holland - in 2001.
Unfortunately, finds the report, this increase was more than offset by a sharp decline in exports to other EU countries, notably Germany, Spain and Italy. The USA and Japan remain by far the most important export markets. The value of exports to the USA fell slightly in 2001, but the rise in the value of exports to Japan more than compensated for this. Together, the two countries accounted for 65.9% of the value of exports to non-EU countries and 43.4% of exports world-wide during the year.
This report is available direct from Key Note priced at £480.
Further details can be obtained by e-mailing Lisa Morrison at: pr@keynote.co.uk
ENDS