Cellulosic fibre production is set to continue growing rapidly in the coming years, according to Issue No 165 of Textile Outlook International from the global business information company Textiles Intelligence. Faced with soaring raw cotton prices in 2011, many textile and apparel producers switched to man-made fibres or started to use a greater proportion of man- made fibres in blends.
Significantly, cellulosic fibre production worldwide rose by a healthy 11.0 per cent in 2011 compared with a 3.7 per cent rise in global demand for fibres of all types. Furthermore, cellulosic fibre production grew by an even faster 12.0 per cent in 2012 while world fibre demand continued to grow by 3.7 per cent.
Demand for cotton, on the other hand, fell by 7.0 per cent in the 2011/12 season (August 1, 2011 – July 31, 2012) and rose by only 2.3 per cent in the 2012/13 season. Demand in China alone fell by 3.3 per cent as the Chinese government´s policy of supporting domestic cotton prices at levels which are higher than world prices under- mined cotton´s competitiveness in the country.
In fact, the rise in global cellulosic fibre production in 2012 was due almost wholly to expansion in the man-made fibre industry in China. In percentage terms, Chinese cellulosic fibre output rose by 17.3 per cent in 2012 after growing by 19.5 per cent in 2011.
Looking ahead, global cellulosic fibre capacity is expected to rise by 13.7 per cent in the 21 months between March 2013 and December 2014 while demand for cotton in the 2013/14 season is projected to rise by a much slower 2.1 per cent.
Significantly, over 85 per cent of the increase in global cellulosic fibre capacity between March 2013 and December 2014 will take place in China and India alone. By the end of the 21-month period, Chinese capacity will represent 64.2 per cent of the global total while India will account for 9.9 per cent.
Admittedly, some new capacity is under construction in Western Europe — in Austria — but this will account for little over 1 per cent of global cellulosic fibre capacity when it comes on stream.