The critical situation in the ceramics sector makes unfeasible the celebration of the event from June 13 to 17 Feria Valencia, with the support of the organising committe, approves move to hold the fair from 27th February to 3rd March 2023.

The crisis in the ceramic industry has led Feria Valencia to cancel international ceramic and bathroom event Cevisama, which had been due to run from 13th to 17th June, and re-schedule it to take place from 27th February to 3rd March 2023. The decision has been taken by Feria Valencia after the extraordinary meeting of the organizing committee.

Cevisama had already had to re-schedule its traditional February date because of the sixth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, and has now cancelled the June date because of the critical situation currently being experienced by the mainstay of the fair, the ceramic industry, which is facing huge uncertainty and unpredictable outcomes following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The war has exacerbated the energy crisis that ceramic manufacturers have been having to deal with since the middle of last year. With the outbreak of war, the prices of gas have spiked sharply and unsustainably and the industry, which is gas intensive, is already seeing stoppages in production and adjustments to the workforce in the form of furloughs (ERTE).

In addition to the prohibitive cost of energy, other factors are making the industry crisis even more complicated: the supply of clay – most of which comes from Ukraine – and the general increase in the costs of other raw materials and logistics. The sector has also lost the Russian market, which was the 12th largest export market for Spanish ceramic last year.

Given the context, and even though there had been a very positive response to the fair from the demand side of the business – 25% more visitors had pre-registered than for previous editions – exhibitors had been pulling out of the commercial showcase to the point that it was no longer sufficiently attractive to warrant the fair taking place.

“We are very sorry for the problems the cancellation may cause, but we what we have is an emergency situation that has arisen and that is preventing us from going ahead with the industry’s grand re-grouping we were so looking forward to. We do not want to let down the trade visitors who come every year from all over the world,” Cevisama director Carmen Álvarez says.

Given the circumstances, the organising committee has approved to celebrate the next edition of Cevisama from 27th February to 3rd March 2023.  The proposal means the fair will be returning to the time of year when it traditionally took place, the first quarter. The move will make it the first commercial event of the year and the ideal time to show new products.

With the support of the Ministry of Economy, Feria Valencia has committed to make a significant investment in the next edition, with a dual objective: on the one hand, to make a qualitative leap in terms of the offering and content on show and, on the other, to ensure that all the leading Spanish and international businesses that have purchasing and specifying power attend Cevisama 2023.