Exporting to the United Kingdom
Egyptian marble and granite for the UK
We ship Egyptian marble, granite and quartz into the UK from Alexandria, with the declarations a UK merchant or contractor has to hold on file.
01 — Getting it there
Route and terms
- Routing
- Alexandria → Felixstowe, Southampton, London Gateway or Liverpool
- Sea leg
- 12 – 20 days port to port
- Incoterms
- FOB Alexandria, CIF or DAP to the UK port. DAP inland is quoted on request.
- Minimum order
- 1 × 20 ft container
- Production
- 21 – 35 days from approved sample
Transit times are indicative port-to-port sailing times and exclude customs and inland haulage. Confirm at booking — they move with the season and the service.
02 — Paperwork
What has to travel with it
Natural stone flooring, cladding and tiles sold in the UK fall under harmonised standards — EN 12057 for modular tiles, EN 12058 for slabs and stairs, EN 1469 for cladding. Each shipment ships with a Declaration of Performance carrying the batch number, intended use, petrological family, colour and place of origin. Most stone sits in System 4, so the declaration is ours to make without a notified body. CE marking is still accepted for construction products in Great Britain and the government has committed to a minimum two years' notice before that changes; we can issue the UKCA mark instead on request, and no retesting is needed to switch.
03 — What sells here
Stone that suits the United Kingdom
The UK buys Egyptian beige for volume flooring and hotel work where the alternative is Turkish or Spanish limestone at a higher landed cost, and Egyptian granite for external paving, kerbs and hard landscaping. Milly Gray has taken a share of the grey market that used to go to imported porcelain.
04 — Questions
Buying from Egypt, into the United Kingdom
Do you supply UKCA or CE declarations?
Both. Tell us the end use at quotation stage — flooring, cladding, stairs — so the declaration of performance covers the right harmonised standard.
What is the smallest order you will ship to the UK?
One 20 ft container. We can consolidate several stones into it if no single material fills a load.
Can you deliver to site rather than the port?
Yes, on DAP terms. Send the postcode and any access restriction — stone arrives on A-frames and needs room to unload.
Quoting for the United Kingdom?
Send the stone, the finish, the thickness, the quantity and the destination port. You get FOB and CIF prices and a lead time, usually within one working day.