Polyester staple fiber (PSF) prices are now at a mid-to-high level over the past year. According to publicly available industry data, the benchmark price on July 27 stood at 7,662.83 yuan per ton, up 3.29% from the beginning of the month and a rebound of over 22% from the year's low of 6,267.17 yuan per ton. While this is not an all-time high—still 763.19 yuan below the peak—it is enough to shift downstream procurement and inventory strategies.
Drivers Behind the Price Uptick
The current rally is not driven by a single factor. On the cost side, raw materials such as PTA and MEG have strengthened steadily in the second quarter, directly raising production costs for PSF. On the supply-demand side, scheduled maintenance at several major plants tightened supply during the summer, while downstream demand from weaving and home textiles did not contract significantly during the traditional off-season, creating a temporary mismatch.
Notably, the price has climbed from 7,418.65 yuan per ton at the start of the year to current levels, well above the annual average of 7,016.88 yuan. This suggests that industry-wide profit margins are improving, but benefits are not evenly distributed. Vertically integrated producers with captive raw material supply have stronger pricing power, while smaller manufacturers face pressure from both input costs and finished goods inventory.
Transmission Effects Down the Supply Chain
PSF is a core input for yarn, nonwovens, and filling materials. Price hikes first impact spinning mills, especially those producing pure polyester yarn or polyester-cotton blends. Raw material costs typically account for 60%-70% of yarn production costs, meaning a 1% rise in PSF prices translates into a 0.6-0.7 percentage point increase in yarn costs.
The impact on fabric and garment producers is more indirect but still significant. Cost pressures cascade down the supply chain, and end-brand tolerance for price increases is limited, squeezing margins for intermediate players. For export-oriented firms, the combination of raw material inflation and exchange rate volatility could further erode order competitiveness.
Regional Variations in Response
In major PSF-producing regions such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian, the response has been immediate. Weaving mills in Shengze have shortened their procurement cycles from two weeks to one week to avoid further price spikes. Traders in the Keqiao fabric market are watching the lagged effect on greige fabric costs; while fabric quotations have not yet risen broadly, some trial price increases have been observed.
In inland textile clusters like Hubei and Henan, where logistics costs are higher, companies are more sensitive to PSF price movements. Many are increasing the use of recycled PSF to hedge against cost increases, creating a short-term demand boost for the recycled fiber market.