World production of man-made fibres rose to 65.3 mn tons in 2016 but the growth rate, at 2.4%, was lower than the 3.3% increase achieved in the previous year. Not surprisingly, the 2016 rise was sustained by growth in China—the world's largest man-made fibre producer—and by growth in India. Synthetic fibres accounted for most of the increase in global man-made fibre production, and most of the increase in synthetic fibre production was due to growth in polyester fibre. But cellulosic fibre production was also up, by 4.0%. Production of natural fibres rose by 6.3% in 2016 following an 18.7% decline in 2015. The rise in 2016 resulted from a 6.9% increase in cotton production. This 6.9%) increase came after a 19.7%fall in 2015 as the cotton price recovered from a trough in 2015 to climb to the high 70s US cents/lb range and growers responded by switching to cotton from cotton alternative crops. In the case of wool, the clip fell by 5.0%. Nevertheless, as a result of the increase in cotton production, the share of natural fibres in total fibre production rose from 26.0% to 26.7%.
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