Food Crops, Cellulose Cloud Market Share Predictions

摘要

When faced with higher cotton prices in 2010/11, many manufacturers cut back on orders for raw cotton and cotton textiles. At the same time, a number of manufacturers substituted other fibers in place of cotton in order to keep costs down. As a resultof these actions, there has been a sharp drop in demand for cotton. With cotton demand expected to be lower and production higher in 2012, it is not surprising that cotton prices have fallen. Although lower prices should help to increase the demand forcotton in 2011/12, the increase could be limited by continued substitution of other fibers - a trend that could shift back if the price of cotton continues to decrease while that of other fibers increases. In the first week of January 2012, the dollar price of cotton was 42% lower than a year earlier, while the dollar price of polyester was 26% higher. Demand for man-made fibers has outpaced demand for natural fibers since 2006, years before the volatility affected the cotton industry. This continuous rise has been facilitated by significant increases in man-made fiber production, especially in China.