The price of cotton is too high. Spinning mills use artificial fibers instead of natural fibers

Due to the high price of cotton, spinners all over the world began to reduce the use of natural fibers and switched to cheaper man-made fibers, such as polyester, to produce cotton-blend yarns.

On Monday, the International Cotton Advisory Committee reported that in recent months, cotton prices have risen more than polyester, leading spinners to abandon part of cotton, a trend that is beneficial to polyester.

In 2009, the proportion of cotton in global fiber consumption was approximately 36.5%, and this ratio may continue to decline in 2010 and 2011.

Due to higher prices and limited supply, global cotton consumption is expected to stabilize at 24.6 million tons in 2011-11, although global economic growth is expected to be strong.

In addition, international prices have also increased significantly since the beginning of the year due to tight supply.

The Cotlook A Index price (which reflects the average level of the five cheapest cotton prices in the Far East Port) was 120 cents/lb (0.5 kg) during the August-November period this year, which is almost double the average price of the same period last year.

This price is much higher than the current annual price of 95 cents/lb predicted by the ICC.

The Cotlook A Index is a widely used reference price in world market transactions. ICAC predicts that global cotton production will increase to about 25 million tons in 2010-11, up from 21.8 million tons last year.