Polyester staple fiber (hereinafter referred to as staple fiber) is a polyester (PET) produced by polymerizing PTA and ethylene glycol in a molten state by spinning Silk, short fiber obtained after drawing and cutting. Since it entered my country in the 1970s, its market size has developed rapidly due to its wide range of uses and low price, and it has become an important raw material in textile, clothing, home textile and other industries.
Raw materials and processes
According to different classification standards, short fibers can be divided into different category. According to raw materials, it can be divided into primary staple fiber and recycled staple fiber. Primary staple fiber is made from PTA and ethylene glycol as raw materials, and is produced after polymerization, spinning, and cutting. It is commonly known as “large chemical fiber”; recycled staple fiber is mainly made from recycled PET bottles, etc., and is dried, melted, and spun. Silk, produced after cutting, commonly known as “small chemical fiber”.
Primary staple fiber according to the spinning production process They are divided into two types: melt direct spinning and intermittent spinning. Melt direct spinning staple fiber uses PTA and ethylene glycol as raw materials. After generating the polyester melt, it is directly spun and cut to produce staple fiber without going through the process of producing polyester chips. At present, the production of conventional domestic short fiber varieties basically adopts melt direct spinning technology. Intermittent spinning, also known as chip spinning, is a process for producing fibers using PET chips as raw materials. Compared with the melt direct spinning process, intermittent spinning reduces the number of polyester devices and increases the drying and melting devices of the slices. The subsequent processes are basically the same.
Downstream applications
Staple fibers are mainly divided into three categories according to different uses: spinning and thread making, filling and non-woven. Spinning and thread making is the main use of short fiber, including both cotton spinning and wool spinning. Cotton spinning and wool spinning refer to spinning with cotton-type and wool-type fibers respectively. Cotton spinning uses a large amount, mainly including polyester pure spinning, polyester-cotton blended spinning, polyester-viscose blended spinning and the production of polyester staple fiber sewing thread. Wool spinning mainly includes polyester-nitrile, polyester-wool blended fabrics and blanket making.
Filling is mainly short fiber in the form of filler, used as filling material for home decoration and thermal insulation materials for clothing, such as bedding, cotton clothing, sofa furniture, plush toys, etc. Such staple fibers are mostly hollow polyester staple fibers. Nonwovens are an extension of the use of short fibers and have developed rapidly in recent years. Nonwovens are widely used. For example, spunlace nonwovens are mainly used in wet wipes, medical and other fields. Geotextiles, leather base fabrics, linoleum base fabrics, etc. are mainly used in engineering fields.
At present, the largest share of the market is polyester staple fiber products for native spinning.
Market supply
my country is the world’s largest short fiber producer. In 2019, the short fiber production capacity was 7.585 million tons and the output was 6.15 million tons. In recent years, domestic short fiber production capacity and output have continued to grow. Since 2014, with the continuous decline in crude oil prices, the price of virgin short fiber has declined. Compared with cotton, recycled staple fiber and other textile raw materials, its cost-effective advantage has been enhanced, promoting the steady growth of short fiber production capacity and output.
As of the end of 2019, there were 34 domestic short fiber manufacturers. There are three companies with an annual production capacity of more than 500,000 tons, with a total production capacity of 2.35 million tons, accounting for 31% of the country’s total production capacity; there are 11 companies with an annual production capacity between 200,000 and 500,000 tons, with a total production capacity of 3.18 million tons, accounting for 31% of the country’s total production capacity. ratio is 41.9%; there are 13 companies with an annual production capacity between 100,000 and 200,000 tons, with a total production capacity of 1.74 million tons, accounting for 22.9%; there are 7 companies with an annual production capacity of less than 100,000 tons, with a total production capacity of 315,000 tons, accounting for 4.2 %.
From a regional perspective, short fiber production capacity is mainly distributed in eastern coastal provinces such as Jiangsu, Fujian, and Zhejiang. Jiangsu, Fujian and Zhejiang account for 84% of the total real estate capacity. The three regions have a large capacity. On the one hand, this is because the local raw material PTA production capacity is abundant. On the other hand, these areas have the advantages of developed economy, convenient transportation, easy export, and proximity to downstream consumer markets.
Market demand
As an important raw material for the textile industry, short fiber is mainly used in the clothing and home textile industries downstream. As the living standards of our country’s residents continue to improve, the demand for clothing and home textiles has gradually expanded, and the consumption of short fiber has increased year by year.
Since 2015-2019, domestic short fiber consumption has maintained a growth trend. Among them, domestic primary staple fiber consumption experienced rapid growth in 2016; the growth rate returned to a low level in 2017 and 2018; in 2019, domestic primary staple fiber consumption was 5.45 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 14.9%, with both consumption volume and growth rate hitting record highs. new highs in recent years. Among them, spinning consumption accounted for 75.2%, and consumption in the field of non-woven fabrics and filling accounted for 24.8%.
From 2015 to 2017, the consumption of short fiber for spinning has steadily increased from 3.56 million tons increased to 3.85 million tons. Consumption dropped to 3.67 million tons in 2018, mainly because the price of polyester raw materials rose sharply in the second half of the year, reducing the demand for short fiber. In addition, the price of short fiber rose slower than that of raw materials. Therefore, profits from short fiber production were compressed, and companies took the initiative to reduce operating rates. Affected short fiber production. In 2019, the consumption of short fiber for spinning increased significantly, with a year-on-year increase of 11.72%, reaching 4.1 million tons.
Consumption of staple fiber for spinning and my country’s textile industryIt is related to the development and distribution of the industry. my country’s textile industry is mainly distributed in Fujian, Jiangsu, Shandong, Hubei, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and other places. Fujian Province is currently the largest pure polyester yarn producer in China and the region with the largest consumption of staple fiber for spinning, accounting for 28.1% of the country’s total consumption. As a major textile and clothing province, Jiangsu Province accounts for 17% of its consumption.
Import and Export Market
In terms of import and export, my country’s international trade of short fiber is mainly exported. In 2019, the total export of virgin and recycled short fiber was 978,000 tons. Imported 218,000 tons. Imported short fibers are mainly differentiated and high-end products, and the main import sources are South Korea and Thailand. As short fiber production capacity increases year by year, the overall supply in the domestic market exceeds demand, and manufacturing companies actively explore foreign markets to absorb their own output. In recent years, Southeast Asia has been actively developing the textile industry by virtue of its cheap labor advantage. The demand for textile materials such as short fibers has continued to grow, and it has become an important market for the expansion of domestic short fiber exports.
Short fiber exports are facing greater anti-dumping pressure. After short fiber exports reached 943,000 tons in 2015, export growth began to slow down, with a negative growth of 0.4% for the first time in 2017. This is because some export destinations, such as Pakistan, Indonesia, and India, have adopted anti-dumping policies against my country’s short fiber, which affects short fiber exports. In 2018, export volume rebounded to a new high in recent years, at 1.027 million tons, and fell again to 978,000 tons in 2019. Judging from the data of the past five years, the export volume of short fiber has basically remained at around 1 million tons.
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