Viscose Staple Fiber Market - Forecast(2023 - 2028)

Viscose Staple Fiber Market size is forecast to reach $11.28 billion by 2026, after growing at a CAGR of 4.5% during 2021-2026. Characteristic properties like soft and lightweight, cheap to produce, and versatile fabric is certainly increasing the demands of Viscose Staple Fiber (VSF) mostly in the apparel & clothing, and textile industry. Viscose Staple Fiber is natural and biodegradable that is obtained from wood pulp and cotton pulp having characteristics similar to cotton fibers. It is used as a silk substitute, as it has a comparable drape and smooth feel to the luxury material. The Asia-Pacific market for viscose staple fiber is projected to witness the fastest growth throughout the forecast period. The growth of the Asia-Pacific region is majorly attributed to the increasing demand for products from major developing economies like India and China. In the APAC region, Viscose Staple Fiber prices increased with better market sentiments during the last fortnight. In 2020 VSF prices further moved up with ample product sales. Due to environmental factors, some the developed countries like the United States, Japan, and EU members have withdrawn from the viscose staple fiber industry, which might impede the growth of the global viscose staple fiber market in the coming years.

COVID-19 pandemic has shaken up both the human race and the economies of these countries. The lockdown has affected the value chain in every possible way. One of the most severely hit industries is the Apparel and Clothing industry and to that viscose staple fiber market demands are hindered by that. The daily wage worker who forms 80% of the workforce in garment factories is on roads or back in his hometown. India’s major export destinations for viscose staple fiber, the United States and Europe, are the worst affected. There was a halt in the supply of raw materials because of the restrictions of the government. Most of the manufacturing plants had shut down during the pandemic for the employee’s safety and to halt the virus growth. COVID-19 had a negative and severe impact on the market as according to a recent survey by the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), on average 8% of orders have dropped worldwide.

The report: “Viscose Staple Fiber Market- Forecast (2021-2026)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Viscose Staple Fiber Industry.

By Raw Materials: Wood pulp, Cotton Pulp, Cellulose Xanthate, Sodium Cellulose Xanthate, and Others

By Application: Woven (Textile & Apparel), Non-woven, and Others.

By End-Use Industry: Apparel & Clothing, Medical, and Healthcare, Automotive, Textile, and Others

By Geography: By Geography: North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico), Europe (UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, Netherlands, Belgium, and Rest of Europe), APAC (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia and Rest of APAC), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Rest of South America), and RoW (the Middle East and Africa).

Wood pulp  dominates the Viscose Staple Fiber Market held the largest share of 42% in 2020. The natural fibers used are wood-pulp, cotton-pulp, and rayon. Wood pulp is used for its obvious absorbency, bulk, and low cost. Viscose is semi-synthetic due to the many chemicals involved in the viscose process, like sodium hydroxide and carbon disulfide. Wood pulp has high demands in Viscose Staple Fiber (VSF) Industry in their production as for its low cost and also Relatively short fibers provides better processability and mature infrastructure available in pulp and paper mills to produce large quantities at low cost. Suzano, the world’s biggest producer of wood pulp, for instance, announced the construction of a new plant with an annual production capacity of 2.3 million tons of eucalyptus pulp, which is a kind of wood pulp. This initiative will expand Suzano’s current pulp production capacity, of 10.9 million tons, by approximately 20%. Whereas Svenska Cellulosa AB, a Swedish timber, pulp, and the paper manufacturer is all set to invest around $174 million in pulp production at the Ortviken paper mill in Sundsvall. All such initiatives which are likely to have a positive impact on the growth rate of Viscose Staple Fiber Market.

Woven (Textile and Apparel) held the major share of Viscose Staple Fiber Market of 60% in 2020. The demand for apparel has amplified with rising consumer preference, in response to increasing foreign textile brands. The demand has been improved by social networking sites, apps, and digitalization, which help in growing the sale of garments. Viscose is the most important Man-made cellulose fiber and the growing demands have helped a number of underdeveloped regions. As demand for fast fashion continues to increase with the emergence of new and increasingly affluent consumer markets around the world. Digitalization and data analysis now more transparent and accessible than ever are enabling companies to predict and manage inventories and fine-tune sales fulfillment options, driving more cost-efficient and energy-efficient logistics. Besides, the global textile and apparel manufacturing sector employs about 60 million workers 80% of them in Asia, and is not expected to shrink any time soon. Such growing demands and initiatives will directly impact the growth of the Viscose Staple Fiber Market.

The apparel & clothing dominates the Viscose Staple Fiber Market growing at a CAGR of 8.5%. The Apparel & Clothing industry grew at a healthy rate despite the economic slowdown and is expected to continue the trend. This is majorly due to low switching costs and the significant role of the industry in terms of trade, employment, investment, and revenue. On the other hand, the Medical and Healthcare market is totally saturated with nonwoven products today. Nonwovens, because of their easily modifiable properties and excellent performance have become indispensable in this field. The medical and Hygiene sectors combined together consume more than 90% of the total nonwoven production in the US. In contrast, in developing countries of Asia, Africa, and South America, the demand for medical nonwoven is increasing significantly as a result of a fast-growing, increasingly urbanized, young, health-conscious population. In the future, the demand for nonwovens in the medical field is expected to grow steadily which directly impacts the growth of the Viscose Staple Fiber Market.

Asia Pacific region held the largest share in the Window Films Market in 2020 up to 56% followed by North America and Europe. The Asia-Pacific region is the largest exporter of clothing and textiles to both the United States and Europe. The United States and Canada are among the top 10 countries with high spending on apparel. As textile production capacities continue to shift to Asia from Europe and North America, consumption growth has started to increase in the Asia-Pacific region. China, India, and Indonesia dominate the Viscose Staple Fiber (VSF) production in the Asia-Pacific region. China is one of the major producers and consumers of VSF. The increasing yarn production in China has been enhancing the demand for VSF.  Asian yarn production increasing, mainly driven by the Chinese yarn industry. Yarn production has been increasing due to the increasing production of non-woven fabrics in the country. However, the Chinese VSF industry has been witnessing a major issue of surplus production capacities. The government has released new regulations for limiting the viscose capacities in the country. Furthermore, the wages in China have been increasing gradually, due to which, the textile production is expected to shift to low-wage ASEAN countries, thereby, affecting the sales of VSF in the country. The surplus production capacities and record high cotton inventories are estimated to dominate the global market over the forecast period.

The adoption of VSF is likely to increase due to the ambiguity in cotton prices. When compared to cotton, it is less expensive, has a silky texture, feels soft and luxurious whereas cotton prices are likely to be expensive, pricier, water holds longer which leads to sheets that don’t dry as quickly and shrinks. The global viscose staple fiber market is mainly driven by the rising demand for changing fashion trends and rise in shopping habits among the consumers is triggering the growth rate of the global viscose staple fiber market. Although, competition from synthetic fibers is expected to hinder the market growth.

The Nonwovens Industries Producing Essentials to reduce the Spread of COVID-19. 

The nonwovens and related industries play a major role in producing materials essential to reduce the spread of COVID-19.  From disinfecting wipes to face mask and personal protective materials. Body protection provided by medical gowns and aprons or chemical protective clothing (CPC) are the major production. The Nonwovens industries are also contributing their share to ensure the protection, safety, and health of all people by working around the clock to supply adequate products through different initiatives like Components for rapid test kits, Cards for collection of biosamples, Filters for ventilators, Laboratory filters, and others.

Viscose staple fiber (VSF)  is not environmentally friendly due to water waste in the production process, saturation of chemicals, and destruction of local ecosystems. The production of viscose uses a high concentration of toxic chemicals that pollute the air and water. Sulfur, nitrous oxides, carbon, disulfide, and hydrogen sulfide are found in air emissions around viscose manufacturing sites and deforestation and water waste both in watering the trees and in the process of turning those trees into the fabric. Viscose staple fiber (VSF) is biodegradable and made from a renewable resource, although the environmental impact of producing viscose is still high. 

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) under India's ministry of commerce & industry have recommended the imposition of anti-dumping duty on the import of viscose spun yarn. The wood pulp and Carbon disulfide that viscose staple fiber (VSF) is made from are a highly polluting process and toxic ingredient which has been linked to higher levels of coronary heart disease, birth defects, skin conditions, and cancer, not just in textile workers, but also in those who live near viscose staple fiber (VSF) factories. The production of viscose-cotton blended yarn is currently limited to a few spinning mills in and around Erode. These spinning mills are able to meet only 50% of the domestic demand, which has resulted in rising in imports. The import of viscose staple fiber (VSF) spun yarn has increased from 2 million kilos during 2016-17 to 56 million kilos during 2019-20. As the domestic VSF price was expensive due to anti-dumping duty the demand for domestic viscose yarn got reduced and therefore, the availability and price are affecting the entire Viscose Staple Fiber Market. 

Technology launches, acquisitions and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the Window Films Market. Major players in the Viscose Staple Fiber Market are Aditya Birla Management Corp. Pvt. Ltd., Tangshan Sanyou Group Xingda Chemical Fibre Co. Ltd., Sateri, Lenzing AG, China Hi-Tech Group Corporation (CHTC), Glanzstoff Industries, Jilin Chemical Fiber Group Co. Ltd., Kelheim Fibres GmbH, Milan.