Welcome

In ceramics, being big has never guaranteed being strong. 

Across Asia, some of the industry’s largest manufacturing centres are finding that capacity, investment and an established market position count for little if they cannot be turned into competitive products, resilient operations and profitable growth. Energy costs remain unpredictable, international trade patterns are shifting and manufacturers face pressure to invest in technology while responding to increasingly demanding domestic and export markets. 

The real measure of strength is what manufacturers do with the scale they have. 

Nowhere is that more apparent than in Indonesia, the focus of our cover story. Jahir Ahmed examines a tableware industry with substantial manufacturing capacity, domestic raw material resources and an established OEM base, but one that continues to contend with imports, energy costs and underused production capacity. Investment and export opportunities remain, but improving utilisation will be critical if producers are to make the most of that potential. 

Scale presents a different set of questions in Asia’s ceramic clusters. From China’s long-established production centres to Morbi and the growing manufacturing hubs of Southeast Asia, clustering has long brought advantages through concentrated supply chains, specialist expertise and production efficiency. There is another side to the equation, however: dependence on shared energy, infrastructure and logistics networks can leave manufacturers more exposed when conditions turn against them, as Jahir explains. 

The picture is changing in sanitaryware too. In China and Southeast Asia, Jahir finds Chinese manufacturers increasingly looking towards fast-growing regional markets, while local producers expand and international buyers diversify their sourcing. The result is opportunity, certainly, but also a tougher regional market in which no position can be taken for granted. 

That point resonates strongly in Türkiye. One of the world’s leading tile-producing countries is facing its own combination of high energy costs, difficult market conditions and intense international competition. Rohan Gunasekera considers how manufacturers are responding, including through investment in technology, efficiency and renewable energy, as they seek to protect the competitiveness that helped build Türkiye into a global ceramic powerhouse. 

Our Nation in Focus takes us to Sri Lanka, where Rohan explores an industry emerging from a period of severe economic disruption. The country’s wider recovery is providing a more encouraging backdrop for ceramics, although manufacturers still face pressures from costs, imports and fragile demand. Sri Lanka’s experience is a useful reminder that recovery can reopen doors without making the difficulties of recent years disappear overnight. 

We hear another industry perspective in our Leadership Conversation with Moynul Islam, President of the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers & Exporters Association. He discusses the development of Bangladesh’s ceramics sector, its ambitions for further investment and exports and the part that automation, sustainability and international partnerships can play in its next phase of growth. 

We also take a broader look at the industry through our Asian Ceramics Intelligence Series. Ceramics in 10 Numbers brings together key figures that help put some of the changes taking place across the sector into perspective. Alongside our regular news coverage and forthcoming industry events, it rounds out an issue spanning some of Asia’s most important ceramic markets. 

Different countries, different products and very different circumstances – but the message running through them is remarkably consistent. Manufacturing strength still matters. So do investment, technology and scale. But none of them, on their own, guarantee success. 

The winners will be those that can turn what they have into what the market needs next. 

We hope you enjoy this issue.