Marble İzmir” became a breath of fresh air for both the city and the country.

Marble İzmir-27, one of the largest natural stone fairs in the world. The International Natural Stone and Technologies Fair made a great contribution to the mining industry with a trade volume of 40 billion dollars and to the city economy. Saying that the industry has a great interest in the fair, İZFAŞ General Manager Canan Karaosmanoğlu Buyer said that there is not even one square meter of space left in Fuar İzmir, one of the largest exhibition facilities in Turkey. The fair made the tradesmen of the city happy as well as the participants and industry professionals.

Continuing to work in line with the vision of Izmir Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer to develop Izmir fair business and bring it together with the world, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality aims to host half the city's population with 31 fairs in 2022. Marble İzmir-27, one of the largest natural stone fairs in the world. The International Natural Stone and Technologies Fair opened its doors on March 30 and brought the world together in İzmir. Marble İzmir, which contributed significantly to the natural stone export, which constitutes the 2.5 billion dollar share of the 6 billion dollar mine export, made both the participants, the industry professionals and the artisans of the city happy. In addition to the business connections made at the Fair İzmir, the occupancy of the hotels, the increase in the business volume in the restaurants and the density in the shopping and touristic areas of the city created great satisfaction.

From 77 million to 2 billion dollars

In the first year of the Marble Izmir fair, which brought the natural stone industry together in Izmir in 1995, the total natural stone exports were 77 million dollars, and now, with the effect of the fair, Turkey's natural stone exports have increased to 2 billion dollars. Natural stone, which is one of the sectors that makes the most important contribution to closing the foreign trade deficit of Turkey; With its raw material reserves and domestic production machinery, it is one of the leading sectors that are not dependent on foreign countries and that consider added value to exports. The sector, which has become the lifeblood of Turkey's natural stone exports, has contributed approximately 20 billion dollars to the Turkish economy in the last 10 years. The industry, which creates a trade volume of 40 billion dollars when combined with the mining industry, continues to strengthen with the 27th Marble Izmir, as it creates raw materials for all industries.

Karaosmanoğlu Alıcı: “The fair sector has grown the sector fair”

İZFAŞ General Manager Canan Karaosmanoğlu Buyer said, “Over a thousand exhibitors, more than 1,400 of our stones are on display. Even 1 square meter of space is not empty in Fuar İzmir, Turkey's largest fairground. We hope that it will create a good trade volume and contribute to our exports. We have a natural stone export of over 2 billion dollars. When we put the machine on this, it is not a job to increase our mining exports to the level of 5 billion dollars. We wish to create a leverage effect with our fair. Both the fair sector grew and the sector expanded the fair. Our President Tunç Soyer set a target of 5 billion dollars for the export figure of our sector with the fair. We are trying to leverage this with our fair. Its contribution to our city also means 70 thousand visitors. All the hotels are full, the shopkeepers are smiling. It feeds many sub-sectors,” he said.

Girgin: “The shopkeepers are happy”

Semih Girgin, President of Izmir Historical Kemeraltı Artisans Association, said that the fairs also contributed to the tradesmen and said, “Fairs have a great contribution to the economy. Hotels and restaurants win. It is also a plus value for Kemeraltı. Our Tunç President is also very self-sacrificing in this regard. We also want to have a Kemeraltı corner at the fairs. With orientation, we can welcome them very well in Kemeraltı. Marble İzmir Fair is an advantage for us”.

Yaşlı: “They leave Izmir happy”

Alacakaya Marble Board Member İlhan Elder stated that they have been participating in the fair since its first year and said, “We have never seen the fair so crowded. A branded fair. It is one of the first three fairs that come to mind when it comes to the marble fair. An export of 6 billion dollars is realized in the marble sector. One of the most important points in this figure is the Marble İzmir fair. Our guests who come here leave Izmir happy and pleasant in every sense.”

Kaya: “The fair is back to its glorious days”

İZ-KO Marble Chairman of the Board Mevlüt Kaya emphasized that the fair has returned to its former glorious days and said, “Iraq is a good market in particular. There are important buyers in Europe. It is not a dry crowd, serious bargains are made by sitting at the tables. It will get bigger and bigger. As Fair İzmir increases exports, the sector also grows Marble İzmir Fair”.

Alimoğlu: "We will be very proud of Marble İzmir"

İbrahim Alimoğlu, Chairman of Alimoğlu Marble Board of Directors, said, “Marble İzmir, to be very proud of, is the first and biggest fair of our country. It is a fair that is in the top three in the world. I would like to thank everyone who contributed. Tunç Soyer showed great effort for this fair. There are Iranian participants, we see those from India. These will return to us as money. May our fair be fruitful. Even better export figures will be achieved. We caught $2.1 billion, it will go towards $5 billion,” he said.

İlcan: “We are hopeful”

Demmak Makina Sales Manager Beytullah İlcan stated that the fair was very productive this year and said, “We receive positive feedback in the marble and machinery department. We have customers from different countries. We are hopeful for this year,” he said.

Mahmoudzadeh: “Its contribution is incredible”

AZ Stone General Manager and founder Alihan Mahmoudzadeh said, “There is a trend that goes beyond my expectations. Marble İzmir is in the position that our period needs most. Especially the natural stone and marble market needs to adapt to the modern world. Therefore, there is a great need for such fairs. The fair is going well. His contributions are incredible and undeniable.”

Şayakçı: "Very successful"

Ali Sayakci, CEO of Sayakci Natural Stone, said, “Marble Izmir is very successful this year. We see people from every country. The corridors are bustling like never before. Marble İzmir made a great contribution to the sector. The most valid fair in the world in terms of international impact in Turkey. Apart from hazelnuts and a few products that Turkey has a voice in the world, the most effective product is marble. That's why Marble İzmir was successful in İzmir instead of İstanbul. The biggest locomotive in the promotion of Turkish marble has been the Marble İzmir fair for 25 years.

Pazarcı: “It contributes a lot to the economy”

Göksel Pazarcı, İzmir Regional Manager of Hidromek Construction Equipment, said, “Many local and international participants come to the fair, especially regionally. We are very pleased with your participation. It is a very valuable fair, its value is increasing day by day”.