Global textile mill fibre consumption-a measure of textile production-fell by 5.7% to 156,003 mn lb (70.8 mn tons) in 2008. As a result, it was just short of the level witnessed in 2006. This was the first decline in several years, and stemmed largely from the global economic downturn.

The fall reflected declines in man-made fibres, cotton and wool. Cotton consumption fell by 9.1% to 54,051 mn lb and, as a result, its share of total fibre usage declined by 1.3 percentage points to just 34.6%. The share of manmade fibres, by contrast, rose from 62.4% to 63.7% despite a 3.8% decline in consumption. Wool consumption, meanwhile, declined by 3.6% and maintained its 1.6% share of global fibre usage.

Geographically, Asia was by far the largest consumer of fibres in 2008, having accounted for 73.2% of global usage. The second largest consumer was North America with a 9.0% share, followed by the Middle East with 5.1%, Western Europe with 4.7%, South America with 3.7%, Eastern Europe with 2.4%, Africa with 1.5%, Oceania with 0.2% and Central America with 0.1%.

Within Asia, total fibre consumption fell by 4.5%-due mainly to an 8.8% decline in cotton consumption. As a result, cotton's share of total fibre usage fell to 35.8%-its lowest ever level-while the share of man-made fibres rose to a peak of 63.0%.

In North America, fibre consumption was down by 10.6% in 2008 and, as a result, it reached its lowest level in over 20 years. Furthermore, declines were recorded in man-made fibres, cotton and wool.

In the Middle East, fibre consumption fell by 13.7%, having remained fairly stable for the previous four years.

In Western Europe, fibre consumption decreased by 8.6%, due largely to a 9.8% decline in man-made fibre consumption. Nevertheless, man-made fibres still accounted for 83.6% of West European consumption, which was the highest share of any region.

In South America, fibre consumption fell by a modest 1.7% and remained higher than levels seen prior to 2006. South America is one of only two regions-the other being Central America-where cotton accounted for the largest share of consumption in 2008.

In Eastern Europe, fibre consumption fell by 8.6% to its lowest level in over six years, and declines were recorded in man-made fibres, cotton and wool. In Africa, fibre consumption fell by a marginal 0.5% in 2008 as an 11.0% rise in man-made fibre consumption was offset by a 10.6% drop in cotton. As a result, man-made fibres overtook cotton to become the main fibre type in the region.

In Oceania, fibre consumption fell by 3.3% due to drops in all of the three main fibre types. Man-made fibres accounted for 74.3% of total fibre consumption in the region while wool accounted for 19.1%, leaving cotton with just 6.6%. In fact, Oceania was the only region in the world where wool consumption was bigger than cotton consumption.