Ceramic firm out to battle China tiles.

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire
 | July 02, 2005 | Copyright
(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)
STO. TOMAS, Batangas-For the country's biggest manufacturer of ceramic tiles, having high quality replacement products is the best way to fight the rampant smuggling of China-made ceramic tiles.
"Quality-wise, the smuggled ceramic tiles that come from China fall way below our standards," claimed Eduardo de la Rama, Mariwasa Manufacturing Inc. (MMI) external consultant.
The 41-year-old MMI is the biggest in the Philippines and has installed the longest tile decorating line in Southeast Asia at the plant in Barangay San Antonio of this town.
MMI's plant that sits on a 24-hectare property started operations in 1997.
Raw materials from local sources, such as red clay from Nueva Ecija and lahar from Pampanga, are used to produce world-class ceramic tiles exported to Australia and Southeast Asia.
MMI has pioneered the manufacturing process for vitrified floor tiles, big-size wall tiles and third-fired ceramic tiles.
"Another big advantage we have over smuggled tiles is our availability of replacements. Whenever a tile breaks, we always have a ready replacement with the exact quality of the broken one," De la Rama said.
But like all the members of the Association of Tile Manufacturers of the Philippines, MMI was also affected by the rampant tile smuggling.
Only six months ago, 49 container vans of China-made tiles reportedly arrived at the Batangas port.
Out of the 49 container vans, only 29 had the permit from the Bureau of Customs, but all of them were smuggled out of the port.
The smuggled tiles cost P5 a piece while locally made tiles are priced at P10 each.
"From January to May, the sales of local tile manufacturers went down. It was only this June that sales were able to pick up. Smuggling really affected the local tile industry, but then, when the people who bought the imported tiles discovered that the China-made tiles break and tarnish easily, there was no replacement," De la Rama said. Mei Magsino-Lubis, PDI Southern Luzon Bureau