Indian polyester fiber holds a significant share of the global fiber market share, accounting for more than half of the market share i.e. 55%, followed by cotton with 27% of the total market share. Polyester is the major fiber used globally and is a strong competitor to cotton. Polyester dominates cotton because it is cheap, readily available, has good durability, is easy to process, and is wrinkle free.
Polyester is the most cost competitive fiber available to the synthetic fiber industry. Given that globally, the growth of natural fibers is limited by available resources, it is only polyester that will see further capacity growth.
We have many advantages of manufacturing textiles in India. We have a huge domestic market, yet polyester consumption is well below the global average. The petrochemical base is very strong, innovation and still very competitive compared to our competition. In addition, polyester is used extensively in the technical textile sector. Therefore, the Indian polyester yarn industry will continue to grow as long as there is sufficient supply of crude oil in the world. In fact, the Indian polyester fiber industry will rule for the next 20 years and will see substantial capacity addition.
Polyester is extensively used to make a variety of fabrics, mainly sports wear and home goods such as bed sheets, pillows, furniture, rugs and curtains etc. The characteristics of high heat, good durability, maintenance free, wrinkle free, easy to wash and fast drying make this polyester as a good choice of fabric. Polyester is hydrophobic in nature which makes it a perfect choice for fabrics used in wet and damp environmental conditions.
Apart from clothing, they also use construction products such as swimming costumes, sports wear, uniforms, mountaineering suits, purses, sleeping bags and even astronaut suits for sky divers and many other outdoor activities. Surat can take full advantage of this polyester textile’s tsunami. For that, it will have to depend on the innovation, research n development of export and fiber n fabric, the road ahead is full of competition, growth is equally big with challenges.