Thanks to increasing demand in both local and international markets amid a fall in the price of raw materials, polyester and yarn producer Indorama Synthetics expects to sell more yarn this year. The company has enjoyed sustainable demand growth in yarn and expects to sell about 18,000 tons more than the 112,500 tons of yarn it sold last year from its production units in four countries viz: Indonesia, Turkey, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan. The firm’s yarn exports from the four countries increased by 168 per cent to 67,000 tons in 2015 from 25,000 tons in 2010.

Indorama president director VS Baldwa said that a change in lifestyle worldwide has increased demand for fashion. Hence, thread and yarn enjoy sustainable growth from year to year. To realize the sales target, Indorama recently began operating two new plants. The first is in Jatiluhur, West Java, worth $25 million that is able to produce 6,000 tons of yarn per year. The other is in Uzbekistan, producing up to 12,000 tons per year.

Although demand remains stable, the selling price in the yarn industry has been under pressure, along with the price of oil, a raw material for yarn. Indorama hopes to see a better sales value in the second semester as the oil price has relatively recovered. In terms of the sales value from Indonesian production only, the firm suffered a slight drop of 4.2 per cent year-on-year to $336.14 million in the first half. Its other products, namely greige fabric, finished fabric and polyester have also seen volatile sales prices due to the unstable oil price. Oil is a raw material that is used for all of Indorama’s products.