Polyester fibre: Production
How China came to spin nearly three-quarters of it
What this tab covers Who makes it and how much: world capacity and output, utilisation, the top producing countries and companies globally and in India, concentration, new capacity coming, and each region's position.| Measure | Figure | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| World capacity | not published in sources reached; China's polyester chain alone runs well above 80 Mt/yr including PET resin (indicative) | indicative | |
| World output | 78 Mt (2024), of which recycled 9.3 Mt | Textile Exchange Materials Market Report 2025 | |
| Capacity utilisation | not published; Chinese PTA ran at about 70-71% in October 2026 (PTA tile) | Polyester capacity has outgrown demand since 2019; Chinese producers cut runs when processing fees fall below cost. | Procurement Resource via PTA tile |
| Concentration | China about 72%; top three about 81% (indicative) | Chinese integrated groups (Tongkun, Xin Feng Ming, Hengli, Hengyi, Shenghong, Rongsheng) lead; outside China, Reliance and Indorama Ventures are the largest. Company volumes are not published in sources reached. | indicative |
| New capacity | Reliance over 1 Mt/yr of PFY and PSF by 2026; Indian PTA additions of about 2.75 Mt/yr in 2026 | Reliance announced Rs 75,000 crore for polyester and other petrochemicals over five years from 2022, including 3 Mt/yr PTA and 1 Mt/yr PET at Dahej (Apparel Resources). New Indian PTA plants of 1.25 and 1.5 Mt/yr were planned for 2026 (PTA tile). Chinese additions continue but are not itemised in sources reached. | Apparel Resources Aug 2022; PTA tile (Tiger Brokers 2025) |
Top producing countries
China 72% · about 56 Mt (indicative) India 6% · about 5 Mt (indicative); official PSF output 0.85 Mt in 2018 and PSF capacity 1.18 Mt in 2017 Indonesia 3% · not published in sources reached Vietnam 2% · not published in sources reached Taiwan 2% · not published in sources reached Thailand 2% · Indorama Ventures home base indicative (basis: China's share of world PTA and polyester capacity); CEIC from Ministry of Textiles (2017-2018); total indicative (basis: about 6 Mt PTA supply / 0.86 less about 2 Mt PET resin); indicativeLargest producers: global
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tongkun Group among the largest filament makers; not published in sources reached | China | not published | 2025 | indicative |
| Xin Feng Ming Group not published | China | not published | 2025 | indicative |
| Hengli Group integrated from refinery to yarn; not published | China | not published | 2025 | indicative |
| Zhejiang Hengyi not published | China | not published | 2025 | indicative |
| Jiangsu Shenghong integrated PX-PTA-polyester; not published | China | not published | 2025 | indicative |
| Reliance Industries adding over 1 Mt/yr of PFY and PSF in phases to 2026, plus 3 Mt/yr PTA and 1 Mt/yr PET at Dahej | India | not published | 2025 | Apparel Resources, Aug 2022 |
| Indorama Ventures global PET and fibre group; owns Indorama India; volume not published in sources reached | Thailand | not published | 2025 | indicative |
Largest producers: India
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliance Industries India's largest producer, integrated from PX to yarn and recycled fibre (indicative); capacity not published in sources reached | India | not published | 2025 | Apparel Resources, Aug 2022 |
| Indorama India (Indorama Ventures) former Indo Rama Synthetics, Nagpur; not published | India | not published | 2025 | indicative |
| Alok Industries Reliance-controlled polyester and textiles maker; not published | India | not published | 2025 | indicative |
| Filatex India filament yarn; not published | India | not published | 2025 | indicative |
| Ganesha Ecosphere large bottle-to-fibre recycler; not published | India | not published | 2025 | indicative |
India is the second-largest polyester maker, with Reliance dominant, but it imports PTA (1.95 Mt in January-November 2025, PTA tile) and MEG. Official fibre data are old: PSF output was 0.85 Mt in 2018 (CEIC). From October 2023 BIS quality-control orders blocked cheap Chinese yarn and inputs; they were rescinded on 12 November 2025 (CRISIL).
Position by region
| Region | Position |
|---|---|
| US | Small polyester base; imports garments from Asia. US tariffs of 50% on Indian goods hit Indian garment exporters, a third of whose exports go to the US (CRISIL). |
| EU | Little primary production; EU textile strategy and EPR push recycled content (indicative). |
| India | Large producer and growing exporter; QCO removal lowers input costs for weavers but squeezes domestic yarn spinners' margins by about 100 bps to 5.5-6% (CRISIL). |
| China | About 72% of output (indicative); sets world prices through ZCE PTA and polyester futures. |
| Japan | Specialty fibres (Toray, Teijin); small volumes. |
| Middle East | Supplies MEG and PX; Gulf shipping disruption in 2026 raised MEG costs (MEG tile). |