Polyester Staple Fibre Import Hits US$7.76 Million in August

As global fashion trends evolve, man-made fibre (MMF) fabrics are becoming more prominent as a substitute for cotton. MMF remains the most popular textile fibre in the world, with a 72:28 ratio, MMF constituting72 per cent and natural fibres 28 per cent. The use of MMF has steadily increased due to the evident limitations of cotton and other natural fibres.

Around 94 per cent of the local MMF market is made up of polyester and viscose (in volume terms). Polyester accounts for 77.5 per cent of the total, with viscose accounting for the rest.

MMF is a significant part of the Indian textile and garment sector, and it has invested heavily in capacity growth in order to achieve the intended goal of a US$350 billion market by 2025. Polyester-based fabrics account for the majority of Indian Man-Made fibres.

Polyester fibre imports in India have grown at a CAGR of almost 13% during 2014-15, reaching US$95 million during 2018-19. Indonesia is India’s largest exporter of polyester fabric, with imports increasing at a CAGR of 59 per cent over the corresponding period.

The government raised the import duty on textiles and garments to limit imports to counteract rising imports and assist India’s MMF industry. As a result, textile imports have remained largely under control. Nevertheless, due to free trade agreements, this approach would not be able to limit textile imports.

Imports of Polyester

Polyester staple fibre imports totalled US$3 million in August 2020, rising to US$7.76 million in August 2021. Total imports between January and August 2020 were US$51.65 million, which increased by 26.89% to US$65.54 million by August 2021.

India imported filament yarn worth US$5.69 million in August 2020, rising to US$10.88 million in August 2021. Total imports between January and August 2020 were worth US$43.62 million which climbed up to US$87.38 million by the end of August 2021.

Imports of Acrylic

In August 2020, India’s acrylic staple fibre imports totalled US$4.11 million, but by the end of August 2021, that figure rose to US$9.72 million. Total imports were US$61.49 million during January to August 2020, up by 59.22% from the previous year.

Imports of Nylon

In August 2020, India imported Nylon filament yarn worth US$1.1 million, which rose to US$1.59 million in August 2021. By the end of August 2021, overall imports increased by 96.67%, from US$8.1 million to almost US$15.93 million.

Imports of Viscose

India’s viscose staple fibre imports totalled US$12.74 million in August 2021, up from US$7.81 million in the month of August 2020. Total imports were around US$71.48 million from January to August 2020, rising to US$108.14 million during the corresponding period of this year. The overall imports increased by 51.29%.

In August 2021, India imported total viscose filament yarn worth US$12.01 million, up from previous year which were worth US$2.68 million. The overall imports of viscose filament yarn from January to August 2021, on the other hand, jumped to US$125.86 million by 92.89%.