Polyester filament yarn enjoys strengthening substitution rate to other fibers

In 2023, the domestic production of polyester filament yarn reached 40.6 million tons, an increase of 7.51 million tons or 22.70% compared to 2022. Excluding import and export factors, the domestic apparent consumption of PFY was around 36.68 million tons in 2023, up 22.79% on the year, which was a historical high and also higher than the import and export growth rate of 21.79%.

The unexpected recovery in the growth rate of PFY production in 2023 was largely due to its substitution of other products.

On one hand, the transformation of purchasing and sales models in the textile and apparel companies in recent years has led to the emergence of seasonal fast-selling products, such as summer sunscreens, winter jackets, and down jackets. These products require short and large production of related fibers, and PFY's large capacity and fast production pace can adapt well to these requirements.

On the other hand, PFY has excellent economics and obvious price advantages. The technological advancements in PFY have led to a variety of product performance improvements. For example, high elastic fibers can replace spandex fibers, ultra-fine fibers and moisture-wicking fibers can replace nylon fibers, cotton-like fibers can replace cotton yarn and blended yarn, acetate-like fibers can substitute acetate, and linen-like fibers can replace linen. Modified polyester can replace acrylic fibers, and so on. PFY can effectively substitute for other fiber products with specific performance requirements.

Note: The fiber production data includes samples of total fiber quantity calculated by CCFGroup, including: polyester filament + nylon + spandex + acrylic + cotton yarn + polyester yarn + polyester/cotton yarn + cotton/rayon yarn + polyester/ rayon yarn + cotton/rayon yarn. Other niche products such as silk, flax, and natural wool fibers are not included.

According to CCFGroup's statistics on domestic fiber production, the proportion of PFY has increased from 64% in 2022 to 66% in 2023. If polyester yarn is included, the proportion of PFY + polyester yarn in 2023 could exceed 70%.

In terms of fiber export consumption in 2023, synthetic fiber products outperformed cotton products. Among synthetic fiber products, the growth rate of PFY was also leading.

In 2023, the cumulative year-on-year growth rate of chemical fiber yarn exports was 11.77% (with a 20.7% growth rate for PFY exports), the cumulative year-on-year growth rate of chemical fiber woven fabrics exports was 3.22%, that of synthetic knitwear exports was 2.74%, and that of synthetic woven apparels exports was -2.09%. The cumulative year-on-year growth rate of cotton yarn exports was -16.58%, that of cotton fabric exports was -9.22%, that of cotton knitwear exports was -6.67%, and that of cotton woven apparel exports was 0.85%.

In 2024, the growth rate of PFY capacity is expected to significantly slow down, but production is still expected to continue growing. Its demand substitution for other products is also expected to continue.