According to Japanese Ministry of Finance and customs statistics, 2018 imports of filament and staple fiber nonwovens increased by 4.1% over the previous year to 250,438 tons.
Filament nonwovens imports grew by 5.0% to 166,088 tons, and those of staple fiber nonwovens rose by 2.4% to 84,350 tons.
Imports of polypropylene nonwovens, which account for a great portion of filament nonwovens, increased by 4.7% to 143,546 tons. Of this, imports of nonwovens weighing 25 gram/sqm or less, of which applications are considered to be disposable diapers and other sanitary goods, grew by 4.3% to 129,401 tons.
Imports of rayon staple fiber nonwovens, which account for slightly more than 40% of total staple fiber nonwovens, decreased by 1% to 35,847 tons. Of this, imports of nonwovens weighing 25-70 gram/sqm, of which applications are considered to be cosmetic goods such as facial masks and various types of wipes, rose by 0.7% to 32,511 tons, but imports from China declined by 0.6% to 23,660 tons. Imports of polyester staple fiber nonwovens increased by 6.0% to 29,190 tons.