The declining feedstock wood pulp market stabilized the cost of the viscose staple fibre, whereas the demand from downstream textile industries seemed pumped up. In China, the price for feedstock wood pulp dipped by 6% in the backdrop of improving the supply of the product. Therefore, as of the ChemAnalyst database, the price for VSF 1.2D in China settled at USD 2393/MT FOB Shanghai in April.

Viscose staple fibre is a biodegradable fibre made from wood pulp and cotton pulp. One of the most essential man-made cellulose fibre is the viscose staple fibre, with around 79% market share of man-made cellulose. VSF demand is mainly driven by the apparel and clothing sector, with the rising use of viscose staple fibre in healthcare applications boosting the market sentiment of the product globally.

China is the world's largest clothing producer, with the greatest capacity for textile products made of cotton, man-made fibres, and silk. The presence of excess production capacity is the major issue confronting the Chinese viscose staple fibre industry as they are currently hit by the epidemic situation governing the disruption in the supply of the product to the international market. Lenzing and Birla are the two major global manufacturers with production facilities in China.

In India, Grasim Industries is the major player in the domestic market. In addition, government regulations such as the Amended Technological Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) and the Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP), as well as revision of the freight charges on textiles by the Indian government, have boosted the textile industry, driving the market for viscose staple fibre in India.

As per the ChemAnalyst analysis," the market of Viscose Staple fibre is expected to improve in the forthcoming weeks with various strategies taken by the government of India to improve the textile sector. Raw material wood pulp is also anticipated to ease further along with the increasing demand from the downstream textile industry because of the optimistic outlook from the consumer's end.