Rising Export Volume and Core Regional Market Distribution
The export of Chinese soft ceramic (also called MCM flexible stone veneer) building panels has entered a rapid expansion cycle in the first half of 2026. Official industry statistics show that China's soft ceramic export value reached 4.2 billion RMB in 2025, with a year-on-year increase of 22.7%, and the projected export volume for the whole year of 2026 is expected to hit 5.1 billion RMB, maintaining a double-digit growth rate year by year. In terms of market layout, Southeast Asia accounts for 51.3% of total export volume, ranking the largest overseas market, followed by the Middle East with a proportion of 29.6%. Large-scale landmark projects greatly fuel market demand, among which the NEOM New City Phase II project in Saudi Arabia placed a single soft ceramic procurement order worth 130 million RMB, setting a record for the largest individual export order of such products in history. A small share of products are also exported to Eastern Europe, Australia and coastal areas of Western Europe, mainly serving old building renovation and curved facade decoration projects.
Industry Challenges and Future Development Trends
Despite the promising growth outlook, China's soft ceramic foreign trade still faces tangible challenges. For European and North American developed markets, different countries have disparate fire protection, environmental testing and product certification standards, which require repeated third-party inspections and increase export time and capital costs. Many overseas architects and construction teams rely on conventional ceramic and natural stone materials for decades, and the market education cost for popularizing new soft ceramic materials remains relatively high. Meanwhile, the 2026 cancellation of 9% export tax rebate for traditional ceramic tiles accelerates the transformation of China's building ceramic industry. More manufacturers are shifting focus from low-margin ordinary tiles to high-value-added soft ceramic, PU stone veneer and acoustic panels to hedge policy impacts.
Looking ahead to the next two to three years, three clear trends will dominate soft ceramic's global foreign trade layout. First, market diversification will deepen continuously. Enterprises will further tap Latin America, Central Asia and African emerging infrastructure markets under the Belt and Road Initiative and RCEP framework to reduce reliance on a single regional market. Second, competition will upgrade from pure product sales to integrated solutions. Leading manufacturers will provide customized texture design, overseas technical guidance, after-sales maintenance and regional distributor authorization services to build brand barriers instead of simple OEM production. Third, localized overseas production will become a key layout method. Top soft ceramic brands plan to set up semi-finished processing factories in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Middle East to shorten logistics cycles, slash ocean freight expenses and better comply with local import tariff policies. As global green building standards keep tightening, Chinese innovative soft ceramic panels will secure a larger share in the international high-end decorative building material market and continuously lift the global influence of China's new-type energy-saving wall materials.
