4 April 2023
The Morbi domination is real. But wait, what is it, and how is it relevant to the ceramic industry in India?
The Indian ceramic industry, with the significant +contribution of ceramic tiles, is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.1% between 2023-2028. Morbi, a city famous for its ceramics nationwide and globally, accounts for almost 70% of the ceramic production in India. Known as the “Ceramic City of India,” Morbi hosts nearly a thousand ceramic manufacturing plants with an overall annual turnover of over 20,000 crores.
Morbi, an industrial hub of Saurashtra, is a town famous for being a one-stop destination for anything and everything related to ceramics. The history of the ceramics capital of India is not even a decade old.
The story starts with Morbi’s popularity for “naliya,” a clay-made roof tile that was widely used across villages for roofing. In the middle of the 80s, local businessmen started importing discarded machinery from Italian and Spanish clusters. The SME’s exemption of INR 1 crore, which was later increased to INR 2 crore on the 55% duty for importing capital goods, helped entrepreneurs install ceramic machinery and manufacture tiles.
Further, production grew during the 90s, which was the era of economic liberalization. An important factor contributing to the city’s success in ceramics is the cost of production. The ceramic industry’s raw materials cost accounts for around 50% of the selling cost. The availability of these materials reduces the cost of production for ceramics in Morbi. In addition, the immense support of the Gujarat government in the form of subsidies such as lower gas prices acts as a cherry on top of the cake.
At last, with everything in place, the city saw exponential ceramic growth between 2013 – 2018.
The ceramic hub of India offers ceramic products ranging from bathroom tiles to floor tiles, accessories to sanitaryware and general kitchenware to special crockery. However, some of the most famous ceramic tile products of all time are.
The city hosts an endless variety of porcelain and ceramic tiles in several colors, patterns, and textures. In addition, you can find tiles in various sizes ranging from 8cm x 12cm to 160cm x 320cm.
Morbi, the second-largest ceramic production cluster in the world, accounts for 70% of the ceramics made in India. The city is home to over 1,000 ceramic manufacturing units. One of the major reasons contributing to Morbi’s tile is its years-old production of naliya (roof tiles). Thanks to abundant raw materials, adept labor, and favorable infrastructure, the city easily transitioned from a famous naliya manufacturer to a modern-era ceramic product manufacturer.
On the global level, Morbi is known for its contribution of over 13% in global ceramic manufacturing. In addition, India, because of Morbi, holds the second position as the largest ceramic manufacturer after China. For its ceramic industry, the city has its certification of TEE (Town of Export Excellence) issued by the Indian Ministry of Commerce.
Moreover, the technology-leading ceramic production in Morbi is successfully manufacturing around 14,000 sq. mtr. of ceramic tiles every day. Additionally, several reasons worked in favor of Morbi to become the “Ceramic Capital of India.” Some are as follows.
Several factors influence the whopping 70% of ceramic production in India. Some of them are.
The ceramic city enjoys the advantage of easy and quick transportation connectivity with significant areas of the state, ultimately making it an ideal exporter. Rajkot airport is at a distance of 68 km from Morbi, and it enjoys excellent rail and road connectivity with Ahmedabad. In addition, the ports of Kandla and Mundra are easily accessible, improving the scope of global exports.
Mother nature has blessed Morbi with plentiful natural stones or minerals like clay, wollastonite, quartz, and calcite, which are perfect for manufacturing ceramics of several kinds. Apart from sourcing locally, the manufacturing units also source quality materials from Rajasthan.
Coming to the workforce, the city hosts laborers who are experts in every process of the ceramic industry ranging from design to production. It also holds the second position after Surat in terms of generating employment.
The city is well equipped with necessary infrastructural facilities, including a transport network, water supply, power supply, and gas, all of which are necessary for ceramic production. Moreover, the state government has been proactively supporting the entrepreneurs of the ceramic industry in Morbi by providing them concessions and subsidies concerning tax, interest, cost of gas, and much more.
Morbi, one of Gujarat’s three Towns of Export Excellence (TEE), holds an annual export turnover of over INR 1,000 crores. For several years, the city has responsibly employed a workforce of about 10 lakh people directly or indirectly. The city with a hefty turnover is continuously generating employment opportunities to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of ceramics globally.
Thus, the city being Gujarat’s second highest employment generator, is looked upon by the local economies that rely heavily on Morbi to generate employment.
The content is similar to what made Morbi the ceramic capital and the reasons why ceramics are produced in Morbi.
Morbi is known for its ceramic products globally and thus serves as a major exporter of ceramics – SakarMarbo, especially tiles. The global export markets of SakarMarbo are Thailand, Australia, Greece, Vietnam, Poland, Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Germany, UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Colombia, USA, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Malta, Ukraine, Dominique Republic, Russia, Bosnia, Israel, Latvia, South Africa, UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Nepal, Lebanon, Mauritius, Iraq, Kuwait, Argentina, Indonesia, Oman, Ecuador, Tunisia, Taiwan, Morocco, and much more.
Morbi, a city in Gujarat, has done wonders in the world of the ceramic industry. The city plays on its best raw materials and labor potential to benefit the nation as a whole. With unmatchable support from the government, Morbi is continuously enhancing its production capacity while generating thousands of employment opportunities.
Overall, the journey of Morbi from a conventional manufacturer of naliya to a world-class manufacturer and exporter of advanced ceramic products is inspiring.
