Furniture, wood & rattan
Indonesian stone and terrazzo
Indonesia supplies volcanic stone for cladding and landscaping, and cast terrazzo for basins, tables and tiles. Both are natural or semi-natural materials that vary between batches, and both are heavy enough that a container fills on weight long before it fills on space.
How it leaves the country.
- Andesite
- Dense volcanic stone for paving, cladding and pool surrounds. Colour and texture vary with the quarry.
- Paras and limestone
- Softer stone, easier to carve, used for reliefs and detail work. Less durable outdoors.
- Terrazzo
- Cement or resin bound aggregate, cast into basins, tables and tiles. Pattern and aggregate are specified rather than found.
How it is graded.
Natural stone has no grade table because every quarry is different. What a contract does is fix the reference sample and the tolerance around it, then insist the shipment is matched to it.
- Fix a reference sample
- Approve a physical sample, keep a retained piece, and write the acceptable variation around it. Photographs do not survive a dispute.
- Batch variation is normal
- Colour and texture move between quarry faces and between casts. What is negotiable is how much, and that belongs in writing.
- Finish
- Honed, brushed, flamed or polished changes both the look and the slip behaviour. Name it, and name it per surface if the order has several.
How it is packed.
- Weight decides the load
- Stone fills a container on weight long before volume. Two 20 ft containers usually beat one 40 ft, and the calculation is worth doing before booking.
- Crating
- Edge and corner damage is the main loss. Crating specification is worth as much attention as the stone specification.
Where it grows.
Central Java
Java
Volcanic stone quarries and the cutting capacity around them.
Yogyakarta
Java
Carving and detail work, with a long tradition in stone.
Bali
Bali
Terrazzo casting and design-led production aimed at hospitality projects.
Who buys this.
Origins with a protected name.
Names the trade contracts on, most of them on the Indonesian register of geographical indications.
Documentation, where applicable.
- Test report
- Where the material is used structurally or outdoors, a test report on the actual stone rather than a general datasheet for the type.
- Fumigation certificate
- Not for the stone. For any timber crating that travels with it, where the destination requires treatment.
- ISPM 15 treatment mark
- On the crating around the stone, which is the only wood in the consignment.1
- Certificate of origin
- Which form applies depends on the destination and on the preference scheme in force.
Questions buyers ask.
Why does my second order look different?
Because the quarry face moved, or the cast used a different aggregate batch. Natural variation is expected in this material. What is not expected is variation outside an agreed tolerance, which is why the retained reference sample matters.
Can I use paras outdoors?
It is softer and more porous than andesite, so it weathers faster and stains more readily. In a wet climate that shows within a few seasons. Andesite is the harder-wearing choice.
How much fits in a container?
Less than you expect, because weight runs out first. Send the piece dimensions and thickness and a loading calculation takes minutes, and it will usually change which container you book.
What does your service cost?
Five per cent of the order value, paid by you and never by the factory. A factory audit starts at $250 depending on location. We work with orders from $10,000 per shipment.
Worth reading.
Tell us what you need.
Give us the specification and the destination port. We come back with producer options and an indicative price. Our fee is 5 % of the order value, paid by you and never by the factory.
Sources
- 1ISPM 15, regulation of wood packaging material in international trade. International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), FAO. Checked 3 August 2026.