EXPORTS of various stones — marble, granite, onyx and others — registered an impressive 55 per cent growth in 2008-09 over the previous fiscal, taking a quantum jump from $22.11 million to $34.15 million which is yet another indication of the potential of relatively smaller sectors to improve the country's overall export profile.

Onyx and its various products led the growth pattern in the sector. In 2007-08 they accounted for 39 per cent of such exports, but in the last fiscal their share went up to 56 per cent.

In addition to the export market, which involves the US, China, the Russian Federation, Europe and the Gulf region, the domestic consumption itself is massive. There are no clear-cut figures maintained in this regard, but stakeholders, both official and in the private sector, are unanimous in their view that it is worth a minimum of Rs100 billion per year.

According to Ehsanullah Khan, who heads the Pakistan Stone Development Company (PASDEC), a non-profit public sector entity under the ministry of industries and production, only three per cent of the deposits are exported though the demand is very high and plans are in the pipeline to optimise production and exports.

Earlier this year, Minister for Industries and Production Mian Manzoor Wattoo told the National Assembly that PASDEC would establish marble cities in various parts of the country, including Risalpur, FATA, Karachi, Gaddani and Islamabad in the first phase. It would be followed by similar facilities in Chitral and Loralai. He also talked of 18-month timeframe for the initial phase, but lack of funds did not allow the plan to move smoothly.

In the last few weeks there have been initiatives announced by the Sindh government to set up processing facilities at Sonda in Thatta district. The proposed marble city, that would cost around Rs900 million, is expected to reduce the cost of business and would help the exporters due to its proximity to Port Qasim. Presently, marble rocks are transported at heavy costs to factories in Karachi from Balochistan and Sonda. Another such facility is being planned for Nagarparkar on the edge of the Thar desert bordering India.

Not everyone in the community of exporters, however, is excited by the idea. Mohammad Arif, who heads the south zone of the All-Pakistan Marble Industries Association refused to offer his input, but Sanuallah Khan who headed the body previously while also setting up the larger umbrella of the All-Pakistan Marble Mining, Processing, Industry and Exporters Association, believes that investments in Thatta and Nagarparkar would be wasted. The uncertain law and order situation in the interior of Sindh would cause negative sentiments among potential investors.

Others believe that the absence of a thriving local market in the vicinity would increase the cost of doing business in rural areas.

But both the groups agree that the plan to have a marble city in Karachi, lying in the cold storage for long, needs to be activated. As things stand today, the activity in Karachi is spread across Banaras, Qasba and Manghopir areas. The marble city was to be set up close to the Northern Bypass over a 350-acre piece of land with an investment of around Rs600 million.

“It makes much more sense to invest Rs600 million in Karachi which has been the hub of activity with close to 400 processing units already functional instead of spending Rs900 million in setting up a new industry in Thatta. Have the facility functional in Karachi and the exports can touch the $5 billion mark within a matter of years,” said one stakeholder who owns mines in Mardan.

The volatile situation in the North West Frontier Province is also a factor in the equation, but, contrary to what many believe, it is a factor that has almost entirely affected the local market without having any large impact on the export consignments. Stone extracted from Dera Ismail Khan upwards, including the northernmost tip of FATA, is almost entirely used locally.

There have been some exceptions though. An exporter, for instance, recounting his tale of woes, said that one particular stone from Brazil was making waves in the international market for some time. Last year he got hold of a sample and found it to be just like the Suni White and Suni Grey varieties that are routinely extracted from Buner. He sent his own sample to potential importers abroad and secured contract worth $5 million. However, ground situation had changed for the worse in the meantime and he is still sitting idle over the contract because the entire mining activity in Buner and surrounding areas have been on hold for the last several months owing to the military operation under way in the region.

Such incidents are not common and by and large marble exports are based on extractions done in Balochistan and Sindh. Its beige tint is said to have a much better demand and value than the multi-coloured stones of the north.

Apart from a defined policy direction, erratic power supply, which has affected every single industrial activity in the country, is the other major hurdle marble exporters talk of in any discussion related to their field of activity. Dealing with rocks, blocks and boulders without sustained power supply is beyond human capacity and exporters have various tales of either losing a client or upsetting him by falling behind delivery schedule for no fault of their own.

According to official estimates, the production of marble and other stones could be increased from 100 million square feet to 250 million square feet annually by 2011 and the quantum of export could go up to $50 million. Exporters believe that with improved power supply and the establishment of the proposed marble city in Karachi, they can push the target much higher.