According to the China Chemical Fibers Association, the nation’s production of man-made fibers in 2017 increased by 5.0% over the previous year to 49.20 million tons. Of this, polyester grew by 4.8% to 39.34 million tons.
This year’s production is expected to increase by about 5% with MMF surpassing 50 million tons and polyester rising to the 40-million-ton level.
2017 production decreased for acrylic (down 1.0%) and vinylon (down 3.7%), but increased for polypropylene (up 16.2%), nylon (up 8.8%), spandex (up 8.0%), rayon filament (up 7.5%), rayon staple fiber (up 3.7%) and acetate (up 2.6%).
Exports rose by 3.0% to 4.04 million tons.
The 2017 average price of high-purity terephthalic acid (PTA) was 5,173 yuan/ton (up 12% compared to 2016), and that of ethylene glycol (EG) was 7,087 yuan/ton (up 31%). The average price of fibers and yarns was 8,736 yuan/ton for 167 decitex/48 filament FDY (up 15%).
Accordingly, the total profit amount (pretax profits) of polyester fiber producers was 20.6 billion yuan, up 63% from the previous year. That of MMF producers grew by 38% to 44.5 billion yuan, and accounted for 51% of total fiber and textile manufacturing.
The improvement of the earning structure is attributed to vigorous capital investments. The growth of investments in fixed assets in the MMF industry began to shrink from 2011, decreasing to 2.9% in 2015 and 0.3% in 2016, but the growth in 2017 was 19.2% to 133.0 billion yuan.