Alex Trelinski
AN international Valencia trade fair showcasing ceramic tiles has been cancelled due to spiralling energy costs suffered by manufacturers.
Cevisama was first staged in 1978 and is regarded as a ‘must-see’ event for trade professionals, attracting visitors from around the world.
It features all aspects of ceramic tile manufacturing – including the top suppliers of bathroom equipment, natural stone, and glazes.
The fair at the Feria Valencia convention centre was expecting 230 exhibitors in mid-June, having been postponed from its regular February dates over pandemic uncertainties.
The next Cevisama will now be held in 2023 between February 27 and March 3.
The postponement is a blow not just for the ceramics sector, but also for Feria Valencia, with Cevisama accounting for around a third of the venue’s annual turnover.
The news also comes in the year that Valencia City has been designated as the ‘World Capital of Design’.
Spain’s ceramic’s sector has Castellon Province in the Valencia region as its hub.
Many companies in the area are shutting down furnaces and laying off staff due to rising energy costs that they cannot absorb within their budgets.
Cevisama’s organising committee had already toyed with cancelling the event in early March and took the final decision on Thursday.
Cevisama organiser, Carmen Alvarez, said: “We regret the problems that this new postponement may cause, but we are talking about an emergency and unexpected situation that does not allow us to organise the great gathering that we long for”.
“We cannot celebrate a minimalistic Cevisama and we do not want to disappoint the professional visitors that we welcome every year from all over the world,” Alvarez added.
The increase in ceramic tile production costs has reached such a point that the government has stepped in with an aid package.
The Spanish Association of Manufacturers of Ceramic Tiles and Pavements (Ascer) described the measures as ‘insufficient’ and have appealed for greater support to prevent more firms from suspending production.
The tile sector was one of the fastest recovering industries following the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sales stabilised and 2021 ended with record sales figures.
The raw material crisis and the war in Ukraine has had a far greater impact than the pandemic and there are concerns over the future of a major industry in the Valencian Community.
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