China: So-So results from MMF producers

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China produced 4,622,100 tons of manmade fibers in the first half of this year, a 22.9% increase over the same 2001 period. Of this, viscose fiber

Meanwhile, MMF imports rose by 12.83% to 771,800 tons, according to the Chinese General Administration of Customs. Of this, viscose fiber grew by 69.05% to 28,500 tons, and synthetic fibers by 11.41% to 743,300 tons.

According to a report on 165 major MMF enterprises, the average marketing-to-production ratio during the first six months of this year rose by 2.05 percentage points to 99.36%.

The sales prices of MMF climbed slightly, but were still lower than the year before, NBS said.

The January-June sales volume of 165 MMF plants totaled 3,669,200 ton, most of which flowed into coastal regions. Jiangsu Province, China's largest purchaser, made up 26.35% of sales (down 1.43% from the year before); Zhejiang Province also decreased by 1.85% to 24.41%; but Guangdong Province rose by 2.27% to 12.26%; and Shandong, Liaoning, Fujian and Hebei Provinces, as well as Shanghai City, accounted for 5.88%, 4.46%, 3.80%, 2.11% and 3.94% respectively. The 165 manufacturers shipped 68.9% of their goods to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Shandong Provinces. However, the MMF purchase volume of ten western provinces accounted for only 4.28%.

Based on economic reports on 899 Chinese MMF enterprises, however, NBS pointed out that although there was a larger increase in the man-made fiber output, the economic benefits were so-so during January-June 2002. This is because: (1) total profits in both the cotton and wool industries, which are related to MMF, declined by 12.34% and 4.29% respectively during the same six-month period, and (2) The supply of MMF far exceeded demand.