World man-made fibre production grew three times as fast in 2010 as in the previous year. In 2009 output increased by 3.9% but in 2010 it surged by 12.2% to 46.3 mn tons. Not surprisingly, the surge in 2010 was sustained by strong growth in China. Also, most of it was due to an increase in synthetic fibres—and almost all of the increase in synthetics was due to growth in polyester. That said, production of cellulosic fibres also rose, by 6.5%. Output of natural fibres increased by 13.7% in 2010 following a 6.3% fall in 2009. The increase was caused by a 14.6% rise in cotton output—following a 6.4% decline in 2009—as growers began to switch from alternative crops to cotton in response to higher prices. Indeed, the cotton price climbed throughout much of 2010 to a peak of 244 US cents/lb on March 8, 2011, and the monthly average for March 2011 as a whole was a record level of 230 US cents/lb. But the wool clip continued to decline and, as a result of these trends, the share of natural fibres in total fibre output rose only marginally, from 36.0% to 36.3%.
展开▼
