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Effects of the Great Recession on Apparel Fibre Consumption  

What’s new?  

The World Apparel Fibre Consumption Survey recently completed by the Economic and Social Development Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (EST/FAO) and the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) revealed the latest developments in world fibre consumption during and after the world recession. The Survey estimates the quantity of cotton, wool, flax, cellulosic, and synthetic fibres available for final consumption in the form of apparel goods for 112 countries and 25 regions, accounting for 96% of world textile apparel fibre consumption.   

In this update of the World Apparel Fibre Consumption Survey, estimates for 2004-2008 were revised and updated through 2010, and new groupings reflecting relevant geopolitical clusters of countries have been added to the report: African Continent, Andean Community, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), EU-27, Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Southern Hemisphere, and Northern Hemisphere.  Highlights of the 2013 Update  

After peaking in 2007 at 67.7 million tons, textile fibre consumption declined 4.3% to 64.9 million tons in 2008. Demand destruction of textile fibres amounted to 2.9 million tons. In 2009, total textile fibre demand increased by 0.4% to 65.1 million tons. In 2010, total textile fibre demand increased by 4.6 million tons to 69.7 million tons. This new record consumption level surpassed the previous record in 2007 by 2.0 million tons. The main driver of the recovery was the synthetic (non-cellulosic) fibre group: at 41.9 million tons, demand for synthetic fibres in 2010 exceeded its level in 2007 by 4.3 million tons.  

Figure 1. Evolution of world apparel fibre consumption, in million tons  

38,889 41,279 

47,370 48,940 51,059 52,410 

56,601 58,598 

63,158 

67,736 64,855 65,110 69,728 

0 

20 

40 

60 

80 

1992 1996 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 

Cotton Wool Flax Cellulosic Fibres Synthetic (non-cellulosic) fibres 

1

    

Despite reaching a record in levels in 2010, world apparel fibre consumption measured in per capita terms was still lower in 2010 than in 2007.  Given the asymmetric effect of the Great Recession in developed and developing countries, the market share of the latter in world total fibre consumption increased from 56.6% in 2007 to 60.2% in 2010.  

The market share of cotton in developed countries remained unchanged in developed countries between 2007 and 2010 at 43.2%, but it declined from 31.1% in 2007 to 26.0% in 2010 in developing countries.  

The following table summarizes the changes in rankings among top consuming countries between 2007 and 2010.  

Table 1. Rankings of top consuming countries by fibre in 2007 and 2010. Country Cotton Wool Flax Cellulosic Fibres Synthetic Fibres Total 2007 2010 2007 2010 2007 2010 2007 2010 2007 2010 2007 2010 Australia   10 9         Brazil 7 8          9 China 2 3 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 France  10   5 6 10 10     Germany 6 7 5 5 10  4 5 6 6 5 5 India 3 2 8 10   3 4 3 3 3 3 Indonesia       6 8  9   Italy 9    4 5 7 9 9 8 8  Japan 4 4 2 3 8 10 8 7 4 4 4 4 Pakistan 5 5    8   10  7 7 Poland     6 3       Russian Federation   9 6 2 2 5 6 5 5 6 6 Saudi Arabia     7 7       South Korea 10 9 7 8     7 10 10  Turkey 8 6 6 7   4 3    8 United Kingdom   4 4 9 9   8 7 9 10 United States 1 1 3 2 3 4 1 1 2 2 2 2   

Want to learn more about the Survey?  

The complete introductory notes to the 2013 FAO/ICAC World Apparel Fibre Consumption Survey can be downloaded free of charge from the ICAC Bookstore at www.icac.org.   

The full report with statistics for 112 countries and 25 regions covering 1992, 1996, and 2000-2010 in electronic format can be purchased at the ICAC Bookstore for US$5,500. Regional reports can also be purchased for a fraction of the full price.   

(Press releases are available via e-mail. To register for this free service, send your contact information to <publications@icac.org>)  

The Secretariat of the Committee publishes information related to world cotton production, supply, demand and prices, and provides technical information on cotton production technology. Detailed statistics are found bimonthly in COTTON: Review of the World Situation, $190 per year via email, $230 per year in hard copy. A monthly outlook is available by email for $300 per year. Access to the latest weekly estimates of world cotton supply and use by the Secretariat is available on the Internet for $460 per year. Access Secretariat reports at www.icac.org.