Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
19.000
18.500
20.000
18.000
16.000
14.000
12.000
10.000
18.000
17.200
15.100
12.200
9.600
8.000
6.000
4.000
2.000
0
1999
2000
12.200
1.279
1.350
9.571
2001
15.100
2.618
913
11.569
2002
17.200
2.895
2.416
11.890
2003
18.000
4.995
2.012
10.993
2004
18.500
5.000
1.500
12.000
2005
year
Total
Exotic Fibres
Hemp
Flax
9.600
19.000
5.000
1.800
12.200
* without wood and cotton
1.548
372
7.680
Fig. 11.1.
Use of natural fibres for composites (not including wood or cotton) in the German automotive
industry, 1999-2005 (nova-Institut, November 2006).
automotive composites. At the same time, the
proportion of NF used has changed. While
exotic natural fibres - jute and kenaf, sisal, coir
and abaca - increased substantially between
2000 and 2004, both on a percentage basis
and absolutely, there has been a stagnation
ever since. This was linked directly with the
prices of European flax fibres, which were
quite high in the same period and have been
decreasing again since as recently as 2004;
simultaneously, in recent years there have been
significant price increases for jute and kenaf on
the world market. Accordingly, flax could
expand its market position again in 2004 and
2005. Hemp's market share is determined
mainly by its short supply. Due to the failure of
a large producer, its use decreased in 2004,
then recovered again.
Flax
64.2%
Hemp
9.5%
Jute/
Kenaf
11.2%
Sisal
7.3%
Other
7.9%
Fig. 11.2.
Use of natural fibres for composites in
the German automotive industry, 2005 (nova-
Institut, November 2006).
The predominance of flax fibres (market share
of almost 65%) that are produced almost exclu-
sively in Europe becomes clear, in most cases
as a by-product of textile long fibre production.
Hemp fibres, also almost exclusively from
European production, currently show a market
share of just under 10%. Larger shares are not
possible until further processing capacities are
11.4 Current Market Shares
of Different Natural Fibres
Figure 11.2 shows the current shares of differ-
ent NF for 2005 in the form of a pie chart.
