At the same moment, the polyester staple fiber market reported two extreme prices: Henan Kaijie's water-treatment fiber balls at RMB 15,500/ton and Jiangsu Huahong's cotton-type staple at RMB 7,250/ton, a gap of RMB 8,250, more than double. This fractured pricing is not market chaos but a direct reflection of divergent pricing logic across different applications after the diversification of polyester staple fiber.
The logic behind price divergence
Polyester staple fiber is no longer a single product. In this quote, Henan Kaijie's fiber balls are offered in three diameters—50mm, 40mm, and 30mm—all at RMB 15,500/ton. These are water-treatment filter media, exploiting polyester's adsorption and filtration properties for sewage treatment and oil-water separation. Such products require special physical structure, high specific surface area, and durability, involving specialized molding and curing processes, far costlier than conventional textile staple.
Jiangsu Huahong's cotton-type staple, 1.56dtex*38mm, melt-blown, at RMB 7,250/ton, is one of the most common textile raw materials, used mainly for spinning, nonwovens, and filling. Its price is close to the mainstream range of polyester staple futures and spot markets, reflecting the supply-demand fundamentals of bulk commodities.
The huge gap between the two prices is essentially the valuation difference between 'industrial specialty products' and 'bulk textile raw materials'. Water-treatment fiber balls are small-batch, customized, high-value industrial consumables, priced by technical barriers and the budgets of terminal water-treatment projects; cotton-type staple is a large-scale, standardized product, determined by the marginal cost of the crude oil-PX-PTA-polyester staple chain.
Regional clusters and supply chain transmission
The quote also reveals clear signals of industrial cluster division. Henan Kaijie is located in Zhengzhou, in the central region, where the water-treatment environmental protection industry has developed rapidly, driving local demand for specialty filter media. Wuxi, Jiangsu, is a traditional textile and chemical fiber hub, with a complete industrial chain from polyester to spinning. Huahong's melt-blown capacity represents the efficiency advantage of large-scale industrial production.
For buyers, this means the same name 'polyester staple fiber' masks completely different supplier networks and quality standards. Purchasing water-treatment fiber balls with a textile mindset will inevitably lead to price confusion; conversely, expecting high industrial-filter prices for cotton-type staple may miss low-cost opportunities.
In terms of supply chain transmission, the RMB 7,250/ton quote for cotton-type staple is closely related to recent crude oil price fluctuations, PTA plant maintenance, and downstream weaving operation rates. Industry public data shows that in early August, polyester staple fiber cash flow was near breakeven, with mills inclined to support prices, but terminal orders have not shown significant volume, limiting upward price momentum.