Flax-Linen and Hemp Economic Observatory

European flax fibre market in 2025

February 03, 2025 - Information release Q1 - 2025

European flax fibre 2025: Strong supply and price correction

The 2024 harvest, scutched since the autumn, has been marked by a record area under cultivation in the Masters of Flax Fibre™ (ex-European Flax™) long-fibre cultivation and production zone, along with a high fibre yield.

This strong harvest, welcomed by the European industry, follows a particularly weak 2023 season and a series of below-trend harvests since 2020.

As a reminder, in our last industry update on November 21, 2024, we announced that production of Masters of Flax Fibre™ (ex-European Flax™) long fibres between January and June 2025 was expected to exceed 18,000 tonnes per month.

To date, the production outlook remains between 17,000 and 18,000 tonnes per month, confirming that the first half of 2025 will see production levels close to historical highs.

The end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025 have seen an expected price correction in the sale price of Masters of Flax Fibre™ (ex-European Flax™) long fibres.

As farmers finalize their crop rotation choices for 2025, here is the latest confirmed information from the European industry:

Prices:

• After reaching a peak in spring 2024 at around €9 per kilo on average — across all qualities and production regions — and remaining stable until summer, prices began to decline.
• This decline was relatively gradual at first and accelerated in the autumn. The Alliance for European Flax-Linen and Hemp recorded an average price of €6.78/kg in October, €5.23/kg in November and €3.96/kg in December 2024. As of today, the January 2025 figure has not yet been consolidated.

Area under cultivation – 2025 outlook:

• The 2025 area under cultivation is not yet known, as the sowing period has not begun. However, industry professionals expect a slight increase in the area under cultivation across the entire Masters of Flax Fibre™ (ex-European Flax™) zone, covering France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, compared to 2024. Regarding winter Flax, sown at the end of autumn and generally harvested several weeks before spring Flax, the area under cultivation is estimated at approximately 30,000 hectares across the three countries. This represents an expected level close to that of the previous year.
• A more detailed outlook on the total area under cultivation will be published in the next quarterly update scheduled for spring 2025.

Key production figures for Flax fibre - 2024

European hemp fibre production

Key figures for Hemp Fibre production

• Europe is the world's 2nd largest producer of Hemp with 55,000 ha of hemp for all uses in 2020
• More than 12 countries in the European Union growing textile Hemp in 2021
• France is number 1 in Europe with around 20,000 ha of Hemp for all uses, including at least 2,500 ha for textile Hemp in 2024.
• China is the first global producer of Hemp, with 65,000 ha of Hemp for all uses including 27,000 ha of textile Hemp in 2024

Previous flax and hemp information releases

The Linen and Hemp Economic Observatory regularly publishes information releases on the flax fibre market and the production of textile hemp:

2024 - Flax fibre market and production of textile hemp : See information release 2024
2023 - Flax fibre market and production of textile hemp : See information release 2023