DOI 10.

1007/s10692-015-9629-6
Fibre Chemistry, Vol. 47, No. 1, May, 2015 (Russian Original No. 1, January-February, 2015)

GLOBAL AND RUSSIAN OUTPUT OF POLYESTER FIBRES IN 2013

E. M. Aizenshtein

In 2013, the global polyester (PE) fibre output was 46.7 million tons, including 32.3 million tons as
complex yarns (textile, technical, monofilament, etc.) and 15.4 million tons as staple fibre and tow,
which provided a growth of 8 and 2%, respectively, over 2012. The leading place here belongs to
China, which accounted for 72% of the global PE fibre output and for about 90% of the output of the
Asian region as a whole. In a few other countries, including the USA and Germany, the output rose
perceptibly, by about 4%. In Western Europe, production of nonwovens from PE staple fibre is developed
extensively. The situation in Russia, however, is much worse, especially in terms of consumption and
output volumes. The share of PE fibres in the total volume of chemical fibres in the country in terms of
demand, output, import, and export in 2013 was respectively 60, 40, 70, and 20%. The staple fibre
produced was primarily derived from secondary polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the output of textile
yarns fell by 30%, and technical yarns were imported fully.

Currently, the concept of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is increasingly associated with manufacture of
bottles and other packaging materials [1], but it is pertinent to recall that in the late 1940’s through the early 1950’s it
became, right after polycaproamide, the second fibre-forming polymer, based on which the world’s large capacities
for manufacture of various kinds of synthetic fibres that today account for about 60% of the global textile raw materials
market were built [2].
Within the textile fibres and yarns market in 2013, wholly dominated PE fibres produced primarily from PET
(no less than 85% of the composition) or its copolymers (no more than 15%), the share of which (46.7 million tons)
exceeded half of the entire global textile fibre output (Table 1). Predominant amongst them in 2013 were PE complex
(textile, technical, and monofilament) yarns (31.3 million tons); the staple fibre and tow output in 2013 was 15.4 million
tons − an increment of 2 and 8%, respectively, relative to 2012 [3]. The high growth persisted through the recent decades
and, what is very important, diversion of technical and raw material resources to bottle manufacture did not hindering it
(perhaps except Russia).
As estimated by the PCI Consulting Group [4], 65 million tons of PET was produced globally in 2012, out of
which 44 million tons of fibres (68%), 18 million tons of food-grade granules for bottles (28%), and 3 million tons of
film (4%) was produced at an average annual growth of 5-6% over the previous 10 years. In the global chemical fibre
output, polyester fibres were markedly dominant, comprising almost three-fourths of the total volume and leaving cellulose,
polyamide, polypropylene, polyacrylonitrile, and other fibres far behind [5].
This situation will certainly persist in the future as well, for instance until 2030, when global per capita
consumption of all types of fibre will exceed 16 kg and of PE fibres will be about 9 kg. In that case, however, PET may
not suffice for manufacture of bottles, which may have to be made from polypropylene (PP), so it is better to revert to use
of glass and cardboard.
Development of PE fibres is far from being even in all regions of the world (Table 2). In 2013, their output
dropped markedly in Western and Eastern Europe (by 4 and 5%, respectively), South Korea (−4%), and Japan (−8%).
The maximum growth occurred in China, Mexico, other countries of Asia (+9%), and, what is surprising, the USA
(+5%) since there was a recession there in recent years [6].

aizenstein@koltech.net, aizenstein@koltech.ru, Koltech Trading Ltd, Moskow. Translated from Khimicheskie

Volokna, No. 1, pp. 3-8, January-February, 2015.

0015-0541/15/4701-0001© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York 1

 Table 1. Global Textile Fibre Output in 2013

Fibre type M illion tons rel. t o 2012

Ch emical 63.8 +6
Synt heti c 59.1 +7
polyester complex yarns 31.3 +8
polyester staple fibre 15.4 +2
polyamide com plex yarn s 4.2 +7
polyamide staple fibre 0.2 +1
polyacrylonitrile staple fibre 2 ±0
polypropylene complex yarns* 4.3 +3
polypropylene staple fibre 0.7 +3
others** 1 +9
Cellulos e
complex yarns 0.4 –5
st aple fibre*** 4.4 +14
Natural 27.1 –4
cotton 25.6 –4
wool 1.1 –4
flax 0.2 +1
si lk 0.1 +5
To tal 90.9 +3
_______________
*Excluding spunbond, meltblown, tapes, belts, etc.
**Including spandex, aramid, PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), and other fibres,
***Excluding acetate cigarette tow and Lyocell fibre.

Table 2. Global Synthetic Fibre Output in 2013 by Regio ns

Fibre type
Region polyester polyolefi n* polyamide polyacrylonitrile
thous. tons ±% thous. tons ±% th ous . tons ±% thous. tons ±%
West ern Europe 466 –4 561 –0,4 283 –4 252 –13
Turkey 448 +5 634 +4 65 +6 283 –1
Eastern Europe 266 –5 220 –4 131 –2 68 –1
USA 1261 +5 546 –1 597 +6
Canada 95 +2 99 –1
Mexico 135 +7 64 +2 19 –35 52 –2
Other countries of Ameri ca 336 +6 296 +3 81 +7 64 +2
China 33407 +7 938 +8 2113 + 13 694 +0,4
India 3535 +3 137 +1 98 +5 100 +28
Tai wan 1479 –1 169 +4 385 +3 68 ±0
Sou th Korea 1357 –4 130 +2 132 –9 47 ±0
Japan 294 –8 191 +8 97 –3 147 +5
Other countries of Asia** 3365 +9 479 +5 172 +6 104 +10
Other countries of t he world *** 334 +11 551 +4 69 +2 76 +10
Total 46683 +6 5007 +3 4340 +7 1956 +0.4
_______________
*Excluding spu nbo nd, meltblown, tapes, and belts.
**Mainly Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.
***Mainly Iran, E gypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.

In PE fibre output, unchallenged leader is, of course, China whose share is 72% of the global output (Table 3),
the share of the Asian region as a whole being about 90% [3, 6]. All the 10 largest PE fibre producers are in the Asian
region, of which seven (Table 4) are in China.

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 Table 3. Output of Chemical Fibres in China in 2013

Fibre type th ous. tons rel . to 2012

Synt hetic 37788 +7
polyester complex yarn 23919 +9
polyester staple fibre 9487 +1
polyamide complex yarn
polyamide staple fibre 88 +4
polyacrylonitrile s taple fibre 694 ±0
polypropylene complex yarn 829 +7
polypropylene staple fibre 109 +14
other synthetic fibres 632 +18
Cellulos e 3145 +15
complex yarn 215 –10
staple fi bre 2930 +21
Total 40923 +8

Table 4. Largest Global PE Fibre Producers (Status in 2014)

Company Capacity, thous. tons/yr
«Reliance Industries», India 2.500
«Indorama», Indonesia/Thailand/India/Turkey ~2.000
«Zhejiang Tongkun», China 1.400
«Sinopec Yizheng», Chin a 1.200
«Jiangsu Hengli», China 1.000
«Nan Ya», Taiwan 950
«Sanfangxi ang», China 800
«Zhejiang Rongsheng» , China 750
«Zhejiang Xi aoshan», China 750
«Shaoxing Yuandong», China 720

In the USA, except textile yarns, almost all varieties of PE fibres recorded a growth in 2013, especially of carpet
tow BCF (+14.4%), which indicated reorientation in the carpet industry in the country based on PE stock, where tufting
articles from PA 66 (nylon) dominated for many years. Import of PE stock, except for staple fibre, also rose by 7%
(Table 5) [7].
The situation with chemical fibres in general and with PE fibres in particular in Germany in 2013 was positive
(Table 6); the latter grew by 4%, and the export and import, respectively by 6 and 1% [6, 8]. And Japan witnessed a
regular drop in output of both PE complex yarns (−9.4%) and staple fibres (−5.7%).
Further increase in global PE fibre production capacities is under planning for the next two years. Roughly a
similar growth of complex yarn and staple fibre by 2 million tons with a little over 70% capacity utilization level is
expected from 2014 through 2015.
The growth of PET and PET-based fibre production capacities is being accompanied by fairly vigorous expansion
of the raw material base, such as paraxylene (PX), terephthalic acid (TPA), monoethylene glycol (MEG) (Fig. 1), etc. [9].
During 2008-2010, the PX production capacity was characterized by a two-digit annual growth. Beginning
with 2010, investments in this area dropped to some extent and only in 2012 did they rise by 2.8%. A substantial increase
is expected right until 2016 on account of large investments in the Middle East, China, and other countries of Asia.
The growth of TPA production capacities in regions of Europe, South America, and Asia appears in sharper
relief. Thanks to the jump in Asia in 2012, it was quite high, being 14.8%. Additional TPA market expansion by
1.3 million tons per year is expected in Portugal and Brazil.
Growth of MEG production capacities (Fig. 1) since 2010 is distributed more evenly. Additional capacities
appeared only in China where two factories came on stream in the Henan Province, raising annual global capacity by
0.9%. For the planned growth of PET production by 1 million tons, however, it is necessary to increase the MEG
utilization capacities. In particular, to increase PE fibre production in the next four years at 8.5% average annual growth

3
 7
5 6
4

Capacity, million tons

7 3
6
5 1 2
4 7
3
1 2 6
3 4 5
1 2

Paraxylene Terephthalic acid Monoethylene glycol

Fig. 1. Global raw materials production for polyester fibres:

1 − 2010, 2 − 2011, 3 − 2012, 4 − 2013, 5 − 2014, 6 − 2015,
and 7 − 2016.

Table 5. Po lyester Fibres in USA in 2013

Output Import Export

Type
thous . tons ±% thous. tons ±% thous. tons ±%
Technical yarns 119 +6.5 175 +7.0 8.6 +110
Text ile yarns 168 –1.6 175 +7.0 20.5 –4.1
BSF carpet tow 322 + 14.4
Staple fibre and tow 645 +0.9 365 –4.0 40 –20.9
Total 1254 +4.3 540 +1.0 69.1 –9.3

Table 6. Chemical Fibre Industry in Germany in 2013

Type of activity In dexes rel. to 2012

Output of fibres, thous. tons 675 +4
polyester 198 +4
polyacryloni trile 172 +8
polyamide 73 -3
oth er synthetics* 23 +9
cellulose 209 +3
Sale of fib res, billion euros 2,2 +5
Number of work ers 7500 -5
Export, thous. tons 618 +1
Import, thous. tons 568 +6
_______________
*Polypropylene, spandex, polysulfonic, etc.

rate, China needs to build new MEG factories, without which import of MEG from Near and Middle East countries
remains the only reality.
The issues of technology and application of PE fibres, because of their current diversity and scientific and
technical depth, cannot be reviewed in such a brief communication. Let us turn our attention merely to the fact that
modern PE fibre manufacturing companies are, in general, being equipped with continuous two-stage PET synthesis
lines with capacities up to 1000 ton/day with direct spinning not only of staple fibre in 200-250 ton/day units, but also of
textile and technical yarns, including for tire cord.
Various nonwovens encompassing practically all spheres of modern economy remain a promising large-tonnage
product based on PE fibres. The data in Table 7 support what is said above citing Western Europe as an example. The
variety of PE staple fibres, primarily for carding, is extremely wide (linear mass density from 1.1 to 38 dtex, length from
3 to 150 mm), i.e., besides use in pure form, it encompasses a whole gamut of blend with cotton, wool, flax, etc.,
considerably expanding thereby the already rich list of nonwoven application from sanitation and medicine to geotextile
and automotive engineering [5].

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 Table 7. Variety of Polyester Stap le Fib res in Western Europe for Nonwo vens in 2 013

Manu factu rer Trademark Range of t iter, Cut length End prod uct
(company, cou ntry) dtex range, mm
Bottom cover layer, filters, sanitary an d medical
«Advan sa GmbH», WD, NSD, 808 SD, goods, antimicrobial and hyd rophobic agents,
Germany NBT, 271P
1.1 - 17.0 3 - 76 li nings, shoe insole, inner automobi le uphols tery,
nonwoven s from flat uncrim ped fibres, etc.
«DS Fiber NV», Belgium PES-DS Widespread and high-quality application in
3.0 - 17.0 40 - 150 automotive in dustry
«Ems-Chemie AG», Gril on KE-150, Binding fibres for nonwoven thermobon ding at 15 0
«Ems-Griltech», Swi tzerland Gril on KE-170
5.5 60
and 170°C
«Epitropic Fi bers Ltd», Antistatic mat erials, filters, safety sh oes, carpets,
UK
Epitropic 75 upholstery arti cles
Inner li nings, optically wh ite nonwovens, fleecy
PEST-608, 609,
jersey fabric, warmth -keeping jackets from hollow
«Fi bracat Europa SL», 620, 622, 623, 624,
1.5 - 12.0 32 - 80 hi ghly siliconized fibres, geotextile, needle-pu nched
Spain 628, 640, 667, 680,
nonwoven s wi th low surface density, ti ck and
690, 693, 822
antimicrobial fabrics, punched felt, etc.
Needle-p unched nonwovens for car interior, fi ber
«Fi dion s.r.l.», Italy Terital 63, 70, 71 3.6 - 17.0 38 - 80 fill ers, roofin g material, black-dyed fibre
Nonwovens for aut omotive industry, felts ,
«Frana Plifibre SpA» , PES-Tertex 3.3 - 17.0 20 - 150
warmth-keep ing jackets, filters
Through-dyed fibres, needl e-punched material from
«Inquitex SA», It al y 6.7 - 22.0 50 - 80
nonwoven s for automotive sector
Grisut en 10, 104, Low-shri nkage microfibres wi th reduced
«Markische Faser GmbH», 12, 19, 20, 22, 23, inflammability, through-dyed for automobile cabin s,
Germany 224, 26, 29, 30, 32,
1.5 - 17.0 38 - 150 hi gh-st rength for geotext ile, amorphized fib re
36, 37, 39 fillers, warming linings, etc.
«Pennine Fi bre Indus tries»,
1.7 - 38.0 6 - 150 Nonwovens, filters
UK
Trevira 200, 202, Siliconized, antimicrobial hollow, profi led fire-
«Trevira GmbH»,
Germany
206, 216, 231, 245, 0.9 - 13.0 28 - 80 res istant, bindin g, t ouch-soft for air lines, geotextile,
270, 290, 298, 396 sanit ary devices, clot hes, filt ers, aut omobiles, etc.
«Well man Intern . Lt d», Fil lwell, Fillwell
1.0 - 28.0 38 - 145 Clothes, geotextil e, filt ers, beddi ng accessories
Ireland Hollow, Wellene

Table 8. Polyester Fibre Industry in Russia in 2013

Demand Consum ption Output Import Export

Variety
thous. tons ±% thous. tons ±% thous. tons ±% thous. tons ±% thous. tons ±%
Chemical fi bres, all types 374.6 +1.9 351.4 +1.6 145.3 +4.3 229.3 +4.0 23.2 +5.8
Pol yester 218.2 +4.0 213.4 +3.3 57.1 +6.3 161.1 +3.7 4.8 +39.5
staple fi bre and t ow 172.7 +4.9 168.4 +4.1 52.6 +9.1 120.1 +3.2 4.3 +48.7
textile yarns 31.5 –2.6 31.1 –2.7 4.5 –31.1 27 +4.6 0.4 +1.8
cord and techni cal yarns 14 +4.7 13.9 +6.1 14 +4.7 0.1 –50.0
Share of chemi cal fibres, % 58.2 60.7 39.3 70.3 20.7

The situation with PE fibres in Russia should be characterized as reasonably modest, as the figures in Table 8,
which are not comparable with those cited above, indicate. Generally speaking, the chemical fibre output in the country,
compared to the “pre-restructuring” time, shrunk 5 times, and real escape from this “hole” is not in sight yet. In the
chemical industry development strategy to the year 2030, the chemical fibre output is projected at about 600 thous. tons,
i.e., 25% less than they were produced in Russia at the end of the 1980’s [10].
The output of PE fibres, in spite of their obvious advantages relative to other types of textile raw material and
their leading status in the world, could not stand aside from the general situation. As evident from Table 8, the share of
PE fibres in the total chemical fibre output volume was, in terms of consumption, output, import, and export based on
NIITÉKhim (Scientific Research Institute of Technical and Economic Research under Federal Ministry of Chemical
Industry) data [2], 60, 40, 70, and 20% in 2013.
The staple fibre output rose by 9% relative to the preceding year, but the product remained, for the most part,
unsuitable for the textile industry because its production technology is based on utilization of secondary raw materials,

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 Table 9. Po lyester Fibre Output in Russia in 2013

Output Cap acity, Capaci ty

Manufacturers and variety
t hous. tons rel. to 2012 thous. tons uti lization, %
Stapl e fibre 52.6 +9.1 75 70
RB Group CJSC, Vladimir 14.8 +17.9 26 57
Vladpoliteks Ltd., Sudogda 3.5 ±0
Detskaya Odezhda Ltd., Vladimi r Region 0.3 –21.4 0.7 43
Komit eks OJSC, Syktyvkar 22.4 +9.0 25.1 89
Selena Khimvolokno Ltd., Karachaevo-Cherkesiya 4.7 –6.0 5 94
Nomoteks Ltd., Ul’yanovsk Region 6.8 +13.3 13.3 51
Text ile yarn 4.5 –31.1 10 45
Tver Polyester OJSC 3.2 –31.9 6.5 49
TPK Zavidov Tekst il’ Lt d. 1.3 –29.0 3.5 37

namely, recycled PET from bottle wastes. Perhaps because of this, import of staple fibre surpasses the level of its
production by almost 2.5 times. The output of PE textile yarns, mainly pneumo-texturized, shrunk by 31%; the 4.6%
increase in their import, mainly from the Svetlogorsk Khimvolokno Production Association, Belarus, did not make up
for the precipitous fall at the Tver Polyester OJSC, which has now ceased to exist altogether.
The demand for PE cord and technical yarns in Russia is fully met by import, essentially from
Mogilevkhimvolokno, Belarus. At any rate, the position earlier of Sibur and now of Gazprom Khimvolokno arouses
surprise in connection with the long shifting of the start of the new PE technical and cord yarn plant at Volzhsk. The
modern equipment supplied by the German company EPC has not been erected thus far, and the Russian tire cord and
rubber goods market is “sitting on starvation ration.”
Over 75% of the PE fibre products consumed in Russia are met by import from more than 20 countries, exceeding
production by three times [11]. The major suppliers, for example, of staple fibre, are China, South Korea, and Belarus,
of technical yarns, Belarus and China, and of textile yarns, Belarus, China, and India.
Analyzing the work of individual companies producing PE staple fibre in 2013, note must be taken, using Table
9, of the obvious progress in their production growth, with the exception of OOO (Ltd.) Detskaya Odezhda (Children’s
Clothing Ltd.), Vladimir Region, and Selena Khimvolokno Ltd., Karachaevo-Cherkesia. A marked production growth
was noticed at ZAO (CJSC) RB Group (Vladimir), OAO (OJSC) Momiteks (Syktyvakr), and OOO Nomoteks (Ul’yanovsk
Region). Lamentably, these companies, primarily of textile profile, use secondary PET materials in the form of flakes
from bottle wastes and process the obtained fibre themselves primarily to technical-purpose nonwovens.
The only company in Russia currently producing PE technical yarns is OOO TPK Zavidov Tekstil, which, aided
by the German equipment supplier Oerlikon-Barmag, has been confidently gathering momentum, approaching relatively
high output level of more than 5000 tons/yr.
Summing up the above analysis, it can be affirmed that PE fibres remain the unchallenged leader in global
production and consumption amongst the known types of textile raw materials. The growth of food-grade PET production
capacities does not impede the PE fibre industry from retaining these positions, unlike the Russian market where all raw
material resources are grabbed by the bottle industry. In such a situation, the domestic textile industry and the associated
branches may be lost, particularly in conditions of imminent necessity for import substitution and building up of an
independent economy in Russia.

REFERENCES

1. PET Plant Magazine for Bottlers and Bottle-Makers in the Americas, Asia, Europe and All Around the Planet,
11/2014, §6.
2. E. M. Aizenshtein and D. N. Klepikov, Vestn. Khim. Prom., No. 4 (79), 49-53 (2014).
3. Fibre Organon, June 2014.
4. Fibres and Filaments. The Experts Magazine, 16.08.2013.

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 5. Chemical Fibres Int., No. 2, 60 (2014).
6. Chemical Fibres Int., No. 3, 116 (2014).
7. Fibre Organon, March 2014.
8. NC, Frankfurt (Germany).
9. B. A. Engelhardt, Industry News, June 2013, p. 26.
10. E. M. Aizenshtein, Khim. Volokna, No. 1, 3-6 (2014)
11. E. M. Aizenshtein and D. N. Klepikov, Vestn. Khim. Prom., No. 2 (77), 34-36 (2014).