Still no crisis for polyester fibres

In 2008, world production of polyester (PES) fibres dropped by an insignificant 1.5%, to 30.65 million tons, in comparison to other types of textile raw materials. This includes 18.6 million tons (—0.5%) for complex (industrial, cord, and textile, including textured) fibres and 12.1 million tons (—3.0%) for twist and staple fibre. The sharp drop in PES fibre production occurred in all regions of the world except for China, where production increased by 4%. In CIS, Belarus’ dominated in production of PES fibres, but there, too, production decreased by 2%, including staple fibre and twist by 4% at Mogilevkhimvolokno. Svetlogorsk Khimvolokno IA is operating successfully, manufacturing approximately 28,000 tons of textile fibre in 2008 (+12.3%). Only an increase in production of staple fibre from recycled bottles, primarily earmarked for production of nonwovens, was observed, while production decreased in the other sectors.