Chemical Fiber Market: Viscose Staple Fiber Has Bright Prospects For Development.

　　 fibre It is a kind of polymer material whose molecular length is much larger than its diameter and has softness. All fibers have a certain degree of strength, elasticity and moisture absorption, but they are not soluble in water. Fiber can be divided into two main categories: one is natural fiber, such as cotton, wool, silk, hemp and so on; the other is chemical fiber, chemical fiber is made of natural polymer or synthetic polymer compound as raw material, through the preparation of spinning raw liquid, spinning and post-processing process and so on, and has the structure and properties of fibers, such as polyester, nylon, vinylon, acrylic fiber and so on. According to the different raw materials, chemical fibers are divided into two categories: artificial fibers (regenerated fibers) and synthetic fibers.

In all fibers, the performance of different fiber varieties is different, and the fields of application are different. Viscose fiber has the best heat resistance, the best thermal stability of polyester, the strongest wearability and the best fatigue resistance of nylon, the best optical stability of acrylic fiber and the best elasticity of spandex. Viscose fiber refers to the extraction of alpha cellulose (pulp) from wood and plant cellulose, or cotton lint. raw material An artificial fiber made of spinning raw liquid and then spinning by wet spinning. Viscose fiber is also divided into viscose filament and viscose staple fiber. In the 12 main textile fibers, the moisture content of viscose is most consistent with the physiological requirements of human skin, and has the characteristics of smooth, cool, breathable, antistatic, dyed and flowery. Viscose fiber is one of the earliest chemical fibers that have been put into industrial production. Because of its good moisture absorption and comfortable wearing, it has good spinnability and is often blended and interwoven with cotton, wool or all kinds of synthetic fibers for all kinds of garments and decorative textiles. High strength viscose fiber can also be used for tire cord, conveyor belt and other industrial supplies. Viscose fiber is a widely used chemical fiber.

Due to the pollution of viscose staple fiber and the high cost of labor, the large-scale production of viscose fibers in Europe and America has closed down their factories in recent decades, greatly reducing the production of viscose fiber. There has been a worldwide shift in the production of viscose fiber from developed countries (Europe, the United States and Japan) to developing countries (China and India). There are two main reasons for the reduction of production in developed countries: first, they focus on the production of viscose fiber in a few large companies, which is more conducive to the treatment of pollution and the development of new technologies and new varieties. This is an adaptation to the official strict environmental policy, and is more conducive to their own existence and development. Another reason for their reduction in production is that viscose fiber production is labor intensive, and the high cost of labor affects the economic growth of enterprises. At the same time, they are greatly improving the quality of viscose fiber products, developing new varieties and new technologies, and greatly improving the added value of products. {page_break}

Although the technological level of developing countries has made some progress, compared with the developed countries, the level of technology is still very backward. In the differential viscose staple fiber Technology There is still a big gap between technology development and foreign countries, and high-end products rely mainly on imports. At present, China's viscose staple fiber production accounts for more than 60% of the world's total. Due to the fact that domestic viscose staple fibers are basically flat with international cotton prices, the advantages of their viscose staple fibers are constantly emerging, and domestic viscose staple fibers have strong competitive advantages in the international market. In 2012, the international market price of cotton fell to the bottom of the market, and it is expected to gradually increase in 2013. (January this year, the ICE cotton contract has exceeded 80 cents / pound mark, reaching a new high in the past year). Against this background, the high growth of viscose exports in 2013 will still be maintained. In terms of output, the global output in 2012 was about 3 million 690 thousand tons, of which China produced 2 million 420 thousand tons, accounting for 65.58%. Western Europe produces about 400 thousand tons, accounting for 10.84%, and India 348 thousand tons, accounting for 9.43%.

Viscose staple fiber price fluctuation is relatively large, the price range in the past 10 years from 1-3 yuan / ton. And sticky short price trend shows a clear cyclical, from peak to trough time is usually 3-4 years. Specifically, from the 10 years since 2003, sticky short prices have experienced 4 low valleys (2002, 2005, 2009, 2012) and 3 peaks (2004, 2004, and). The latest wave of price quotas reached a minimum of 13500 yuan / ton in December 2012, and is now at the starting point of the new cycle.

In the short term, although the price of viscose staple fiber is rising rapidly in foreign countries, the price of domestic cotton and viscose staple fiber is seriously upside down, and the inventory is at a low level in history (the average stock in January is only 5 days or so, which is far below the 15-20 day level in the three quarter of last year). The short viscose staple fiber has larger rebound kinetic energy. At present, the sticky short price has recovered to 15000-15700 yuan / ton, the rebound rate has exceeded 10%, but it still has not reached the average price of nearly 10 years, 16635 yuan / ton. In the medium to long term, the supply and demand side of viscose staple fiber industry is improving significantly. On the one hand, viscose staple fiber and cotton price comparison effect make viscose staple fiber demand continue to grow rapidly, while the supply side's future capacity growth slows down, raw materials supply in the next 2 years is adequate, the future viscose staple fiber price and domestic cotton price difference narrowing, viscose enterprise profitability enhancement is a big trend. {page_break}

Viscose demand improved

1, global economic recovery, downstream demand began to improve.

Since the fourth quarter of last year, the survival environment of textile enterprises has improved, especially at the end of December last year. textile After a significant rebound in garment exports and a significant year-on-year increase in domestic apparel retail sales, the production and sales rate and inventory situation of the entire textile industry have been significantly improved. In January, the textile industry PMI48.7 rose slightly compared with 12 in December. The growth rate of domestic sales of textile and garment industry changed little. The cumulative growth in 1-12 months was 18%, which was flat compared with that of last month. The export data of textile and clothing were better, and the growth rate in January was 14.8% (2.8% in 2012). The textile industry continued to inventory, finished goods inventory index for 6 consecutive months less than 50.

　 2, accelerate the replacement of cotton.

From the perspective of global fiber consumption, the declining proportion of cotton is a major trend. Data show that at present, the proportion of cotton in global fiber consumption is roughly 25%. China's share is around 45%. At present, the contradiction between grain and cotton dispute over land and urban and rural areas is becoming increasingly prominent. Therefore, in the long run, the growth of natural fibers such as cotton is restricted, and the trend of high cotton prices can not be reversed. Therefore, chemical fiber will continue to gain a larger market share instead of cotton and other natural fibers, and the growth of fiber consumption is mainly supported by the growth of chemical fiber.

With the increase of natural fiber supply, the structure of raw materials will change greatly in the future. The utilization of regenerated fiber will receive more and more attention. The proportion of chemical fiber and regenerated fiber will gradually increase. The growth of fiber consumption is mainly supported by the growth of chemical fiber, which is a long-term good support for viscose staple fiber consumption.

Viscose staple fiber is a fiber material from cotton instead of cotton, which is a substitute for cotton. Its permeability to cotton is increasing year by year. Relative to the annual consumption of 750-900 tons of cotton, 1% of the replacement can pull nearly 100 thousand tons of viscose staple fiber demand. In fact, after 2009, the consumption of viscose staple fiber in China basically maintained at the growth rate of 10%-25%, while the consumption of cotton decreased slowly. This proves that the substitution in the physical industry has always existed.