According to a Japan Chemical Fibers Association report on 2016 worldwide fiber production, the production of major fibers (estimate) grew by 3.4% over 2015 to 89.06 million tons.
Of this, man-made fiber production increased by 2.4% to 65.29 million tons, thus reaching an all-time high. Production increases in China and India pushed up the total figures. The production of synthetic fibers (excluding olefin fibers) rose by 2.3% to 59.94 million tons, along with that of cellulosic fibers (excluding acetate tow) by 4% to 5.35 million tons.
MMF production continued to grow for eight consecutive years since 2009. The annual average growth between 2006 and 2016 was 5.6% for synthetic fibers and 7.1% for cellulosic fibers. But because cotton production grew by 6.9% to 22.48 million tons, the share of MMF in total fiber production decreased to 73% from 2015’s 74%.
As a result of slower growth in China, polyester fiber production grew by less than 2% for both filament and staple fiber to 36.19 million tons and 16.20 million tons respectively. Nylon fiber production rose by 7.7% to 4.78 million tons, as production continued to grow sharply in China. Acrylic staple fiber production slipped 0.7% to 1.79 million tons.
MMF production in China increased by 2.9% to 45.70 million tons, and accounted for 70% of the total. Production in India, ASEAN and Korea grew by 2-5%, and that in Western Europe and the U.S. remained about the same. Production in Taiwan decreased by 2.1%. Production in Japan declined by 5.7% to 670,000 tons.