Up in the hills of Swat, massive marble blocks are blasted out of the ground, leaving behind piles of wasted stone. What survives is shipped out raw, only to return polished, branded, and sold at many times the price Pakistan originally received.
This sums up the dilemma of our stone sector.
We sit on some of the richest marble and granite deposits in the world, yet our share in the seventy-billion-dollar global stone trade is less than a drop. Pakistan’s exports barely touch three hundred million dollars a year. Compare that with Turkey earning over two billion or Spain fetching more than one and a half billion, and the gap speaks for itself.
The reasons for this are fairly clear. Most of our stone leaves the country raw, with value-added elsewhere. Old quarrying methods waste nearly three-quarters of what is taken out, while modern techniques cut that waste to under ten percent.
Out of more than three thousand processing units in Pakistan, barely one percent meets international standards. To top it off, we spend about fifty million dollars every year, importing finished stone products that we could easily make at home.
Other countries faced similar challenges but managed to turn them into opportunities. Turkey invested in modern quarries and processing clusters, lifting its exports to over two billion dollars. Italy made itself the benchmark by importing raw blocks often from Pakistan and re-exporting them after high-end processing at up to ten times the value. Spain turned its “CremaMarfil” marble into a global brand, proving that identity matters just as much as quality. China, despite having fewer natural varieties, became the world’s biggest processor simply by focusing on mechanization and clustering.
If we compare Pakistan’s current position with that of China, we see a stark contrast. In China, more than one million people are employed in the stone industry, with a significant portion working in stone processing and manufacturing. Their annual stone exports exceed $10 billion, thanks to an expansive mechanized industry.
On the other hand, around 200,000 people are employed in Pakistan’s stone industry, far fewer than what could be achieved, given the sector’s potential. Pakistan’s stone exports barely reach $300 million annually, which highlights a huge gap between what we could do and what we’re doing right now.
China’s employment and export numbers dwarf Pakistan’s, but they also show that with the right investments in mechanization, technology, and clustering of processing plants, Pakistan could significantly boost both employment and exports.
There’s another issue on the horizon. The market is now full of artificial alternative ceramics tiles, engineered quartz, and synthetic stone. They’re cheaper, aggressively marketed, and quickly gaining ground with buyers. While these alternatives may not match the authenticity or long life of natural marble and granite, they are shifting consumer choices rapidly. If Pakistan continues to delay, we may miss the premium window for natural stone altogether.
This isn’t just about starting; it’s about starting seriously. Our federal and provincial governments need to step up, providing funding and support so mine owners can transition from blasting to mechanised quarrying and from outdated cutters to modern processing plants. Without this push, the cycle of wasted potential will continue.
The good news is we already have proof that change is possible. The Pakistan Stone Development Company’s pilot projects have shown that mechanized mining can cut waste dramatically, deliver square blocks that meet export standards, and even attract international partners. Additionally, local workshops have started producing quarry machinery, reducing our reliance on costly imports.
If we get this right, the payoff will be huge. Export earnings could multiply, and thousands of jobs could open up in regions like Buner, Swat, Chaghi, Khuzdar, and Nagarparkar. Industrial estates and training centers could develop around these clusters. Our foreign exchange position would strengthen, and Pakistan’s own marbles from ‘Swat white’ to ‘Ziarat white’ could become renowned global brands instead of being shipped abroad nameless.
The stone sector is a sleeping giant, but time is running out. As artificial substitutes tighten their grip on global markets, the opportunity to turn our marble and granite into a multi-billion-dollar industry is slipping away. The path forward is clear: align policies, improve infrastructure, mechanize, modernize, and brand our stone with pride.
We can still do it but only if we act now. If we miss this chance, the stone that once built empires may slip forever from our grasp.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The writer is an institutional development and capacity-building expert
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