Modal fabric is a bio-based fabric made by spinning beech tree cellulose. It is considered an eco-friendlier alternative to cotton because beech trees require significantly less water, thereby reducing the water usage in its production process by approximately 10 to 20 times. Modal is also known as HWM (high wet modulus) rayon.

According to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro, modal fibre was traded at $2.87 per kg in the Chinese domestic market during the first week of November 2023. It rose to $2.94 per kg in mid-December but fell to $2.82 per kg by mid-February 2024. However, it recovered to $2.89 per kg by the first week of May 2024.

Surprisingly, the modal fibre market in Pakistan has seen a consistent rise. It was priced at $2.71 per kg at the beginning of November last year. Despite a brief decrease to $2.64 per kg in the second week of November, the price climbed to $3.04 per kg by the last week of December 2023 and continued to rise, reaching $3.20 per kg by the first week of May 2024.

The Indian market showed a contradictory trend, with modal fibre dropping to $2.51 per kg in the first week of May 2024 from $2.77 per kg at the beginning of November 2023. The prices decreased further to $2.74 per kg in mid-February and $2.54 per kg in the first week of April 2024.

As per TexPro, the FOB price of modal fibre also followed the trend of India’s domestic market, dropping to $2.59 per kg in the first week of May 2024 from $2.88 per kg in November 2023. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s FOB price for the fibre was $2.80 per kg in the first week of November 2023, climbed to $3.24 per kg by the second week of December 2023, then decreased to $2.91 per kg at the beginning of February 2024, but peaked at $3.34 per kg on the last day of April 2024 before decreasing to $3.29 per kg in the following week of May 2024.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)