Acrylic Fiber Remains Increase

New development mode in the world

After the rapid development of the acrylic fiber industry in the
world, the output of acrylic fiber in major chemical fiber
production countries and regions such as Europe, the United
States and Japan started to go down from the 1990s. A large group
of acrylic fiber units there have been shut down.
   The rapid industrial development in developing countries of
the Asia-Pacific region has led to a brisk demand of acrylic
fiber. The average annual growth of the acrylic fiber demand is
more than 4.2%. The brisk demand has brought about capacity
growth of acrylic fiber. The focus of the acrylic fiber industry
in the world is shifting towards developing countries and
regions. The Asia-Pacific region has become the acrylic fiber
market with the fiercest competition in the world. The total
output of acrylic fiber in Asia reached 1.42 million tons in 2005,
accounting for around 53% of the world total and being doubled
compared with that in 1990. It is expected that with the economic
growth in Asia in the next 10 years the global demand of acrylic
fiber will still increase slowly and the average annual growth
will be 1%.
   Despite constant decline of the acrylic fiber capacity
proportion in advanced countries, they still hold a leading
position in the research, development and application of
high-end products due to their advanced science, technology and
social economy. They are also guiding the global acrylic fiber
industry to develop towards multiple functions, highly
similarity to natural silk, high performance and environmental
protection.

Rapid output growth in China

The acrylic fiber industry in China has developed rapidly in
China. The output of acrylic fiber reached 865 thousand tons in
2005, an increase of 30.7% over 2004. The output of acrylic fiber
in China already holds a leading position in the world. Most of
the new capacity comes from the renovation and expansion of
existing units. It is expected that the average annual growth
of the acrylic fiber output will be 5% in the next 5 years and
the output will reach 1.1 million tons in 2010.
   China is the largest acrylic fiber consumer in the world. The
apparent consumption was 1.323 million tons in 2005, an increase
of 18.1% over 2004, but the output was only 865 thousand tons.
A market deficit of around 460 thousand tons had to be bridged
by imports. Import is mainly made from Japan, Korea and Taiwan
province. It is expected that the consumption of acrylic fiber
in China will still increase at an annual rate of around 3% in
the next 5 years and reach 1.5 million tons in 2010. The market
deficit will be 400 thousand tons at that time.
   Judging from the downstream market, acrylic fiber in China
is mostly used in textiles such as clothes, knitting yarns,
decorative products and artificial furs. The consumption in
other sectors is very small.

Low technical level

Due to the difference in solvent, spinning method and production
process, methods for the acrylic fiber production have great
diversification. In China, the NaSCN process accounted for 40.8%,
the DMAC (dimethyl acetylamide) process accounted for 30.9% and
the DMF (dimethyl formamide) process accounted for 28.3% in 2005.
The NaSCN wet-spinning two-step process will be the mainstream
technology in the future development of the acrylic fiber
production.
   The equipment and technology level in the domestic acrylic
fiber sector is unbalanced, products have few varieties, the
product quality is unstable, the production cost is high, the
proportion of differential products in China is only half of that
in advanced countries and the product portfolio is irrational.
The comprehensive competitive edge of the acrylic fiber industry
in China is therefore not strong and its development is seriously
affected.

Fierce competition from substitutes

As there is a considerable price difference between polyester
fiber and acrylic fiber, downstream users are trying to use
polyester fiber instead of acrylic fiber in their products such
as toys and carpets. In the long-term development of the acrylic
fiber industry, competition from substitute fibers will become
fiercer.

Table 1  Major Acrylic Fiber Producers
                     in China in 2005      (thousand tons)
Producer                           Output
Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co.    161
Jilin Chemical Fiber Group Co.    139
Feicheng Xintaipeng Textile Co.    92
Sinopec Anqing Petrochemical Co.    79
CNPC Daqing Petrochemical Co.    67
Zhejiang Jinyong Acrylic Fiber Co.    66
Sinopec Qilu Petrochemical Co.    63
CNPC Fushun Petrochemical Co.    56
Hebei Qinhuangdao Acrylic Fiber Plant    52
Daqing Refining & Chemical Co.    30
Source: CNCIC Chemdata

Table 2  Supply and Demand of Acrylic Fiber
            in China in Recent Years   (thousand tons)
Year    Output    Import    Export    Consumption
2000    474    353    1    826
2001    548    374    1    921
2002    594    423    0    1 017
2003    629    458    1    1 086
2004    662    460    2    1 120
2005    865    460    2    1 323
Source: CNCIC Chemdata