Cotton Consumption Reappears Growth Potential And Substitutes Spreads Rapidly Drop.

　　 cotton The price difference between alternative fibers has narrowed considerably. Since the start of cotton purchase and storage in October 2011, domestic cotton prices have been at a high level, cotton and its substitutes. Polyester fiber Short fiber and spreads reached 10500 yuan / ton, and the price difference with viscose staple fiber was as high as 7650 yuan / ton.

Some textile enterprises in the inland area say that in order to reduce costs, they have continued to increase other alternatives in recent years. Spin The proportion of manufactured goods. In addition, the impact of cheap imports of cotton and cotton yarns during the same period also made them continue to reduce the use of domestic cotton in the past few years.

The annual consumption substitution data of domestic cotton in China showed that textile enterprises used in 2011 to 2013 chemical fiber The replacement rate of cotton is as high as 30% - 60%. Taking the domestic cotton consumption of 11 million tons in 2011 as the base, the annual average reduction of cotton textile, especially domestic cotton, is 20% to 30%, about 1 million 500 thousand to 2 million tons in 2011 - 2014, and the increment of chemical fiber substitution is between 1 million 500 thousand and 2 million tons per year.

In addition, according to the textile enterprises in Shandong, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and other places, with the change of consumption main force in recent years, the requirements for raw materials in downstream orders are also changing. "For example, home textile products, young people now have little to look at the ingredients, more emphasis on the feeling and style." A person in charge of a company in Nantong said that the change of consumption demand has made many enterprises strive to develop and improve the blending process of Tencel, modal, polyester and other synthetic fibers, while meeting downstream consumption and achieving cost compression.

With the adjustment of the selling price of State Cotton in April 2014, domestic cotton prices fell sharply, and the price difference between inside and outside cotton gradually narrowed. At the same time, the price of major staple products such as viscose staple fiber and polyester staple fiber has been rising step by step, and the price difference between cotton and its substitutes has dropped rapidly.

Today, the price difference between inside and outside cotton has been reduced to about 700 yuan / ton, viscose staple fiber price has already exceeded cotton, and the difference between cotton and polyester staple fiber has also been reduced to 5000 yuan / ton. The advantages of non cotton fiber are no longer in cost. The profit of cotton yarn is better than that of artificial cotton yarn and polyester blended yarn. Cotton consumption has a potential of growth again. Can the "cotton era" return?

It is understood that the replacement of pure cotton and alternative fibers is now not only a simple cost. When choosing imported cotton and domestic cotton, the focus of textile enterprises also shifted from price to cotton quality. Domestic cotton in the previous year Xinjiang Cotton's "three wire" problem has been criticized. Market participants believe that in the short term, the decline in cotton prices and the rising price of alternatives such as viscose staple fiber and polyester staple will have little effect on the proportion of cotton used by textile enterprises.

"For many textile enterprises, the type of products is not single. When a variety is losing money, another species may be making profits, so the impact of the change in the cost of raw materials on the product category is not so great as we all imagine. Even if the choice of production type is entirely due to cost considerations, it will not be possible to replace cotton with cotton as soon as possible. Because chemical fiber has its market demand, it can not be completely replaced. The head of a textile enterprise said.

"Now cotton prices are open and spanparent, and the downstream prices are priced according to cotton prices, so prices are not the primary factor for us to consider. The head of a textile enterprise in Nantong said that the proportion of cotton used in textile enterprises is closely related to the changes in the structure and consumption habits of the downstream customers, which are not changed overnight. Even if the "cotton era" is returned, it will be a gradual process.