Economic information on the flax fibre market and textile hemp production in 2023. Economic observatory collect, develop and share reliable data and information on European Flax and Hemp production.
Summary
September 12, 2023 - Information release
A historically atypical and abnormally low production of flax fibre due to unfavorable climatic conditions throughout the plant's agricultural routes, from its sowing at the end of March to its harvest in June/July.
Flax, like many agricultural products, must deal with the consequences of climate change in France and around the world. The year 2022 was already the hottest ever recorded in France, with a difference of +2.7°C compared to the 1961-1990 average according to the Ministry of Ecological Transition. And most sources agree that 2023 will be the hottest on the planet.
During its communication on July 4, 2023 on the first estimates of the 2023 flax harvest, the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp provided a first estimate on the prospects at the start of the harvesting phase, taking into account the difficult climatic conditions which marked the spring and start of summer 2023.
At that date, the returns from farmers and scutchers fluctuated between yields between 3.5 and 5.5 tonnes of straw per hectare (6 to 7 tonnes of straw in a normal year) and a drop in the volumes of straw fiber estimated between 26% and 36%. However, the period of "retting" remained to pass - a natural process which extends from July to September during which precipitation, morning dew and the sun help the micro-organisms present in the soil to eliminate the pectose which welds the tex le fibres to the woody part of the stem.
The retting period also experienced a generally unfavorable climatic context, with varia ons depending on the different growing zones. A relatively rainy summer in the northern part of France, Belgium and the Netherlands did not provide the optimal humidity/heat balance maximizing the potential in volume and length of fibres.
Concretely, this excessive rainfall in relation to the volumes of straw did not allow efficient retting.
From 6% to 12% of surfaces cannot be harvested. And, in the same area, not all plots have suffered the same climatic hazards and damage.
On most of the 147,000 hectares of the flax growing area, the straw yield should tend towards the lower estimate initially announced with a range of 2 tonnes to 5 tonnes of straw per hectare. The majority trend oscillates between 3.5 tonnes and 4 tonnes of straw per hectare.
Even if it is still necessary to remain cautious - estimates are still in progress - spring flax having suffered bad climatic conditions will have a yield of long fibers probably between 12% and 15%, a rather low performance, i.e. a yield of long fiber of 400kg to 500kg per hectare on the majority of plots. This would therefore represent half the potential in volume than the 2022 harvest.
Winter flax areas benefited from more favorable climatic conditions, and will show higher yields, of the order of 6.5 to 7.5 tonnes of straw per hectare. These areas, estimated in 2023 between 10,000 and 11,000 hectares, have doubled compared to 2022.
As indicated in the July 2023 communication, the supply for the spring/summer 2024 season will be little impacted, this being supplied by yarn and fabric resulting from the assembly of different batches of fibers from previous years. The level of straw carried over into scutching* and therefore the production capacity in the coming months is the subject of ongoing estimates.
However, price tension is likely to continue with constant demand for linen in a context of increasing global demand for natural fibers.
July 4, 2023 - Information release
Weather conditions in recent weeks have had an impact on the initial outlook for the 2023 flax harvest, for which pulling has just begun.
The growing of flax, a technical crop with a short growing season, had already been disrupted this year by a particularly long sowing period, lasting from March to beginning of May (normally until mid-April). Alternating periods of dry spells and intense rainfall hampered early agricultural work that is so crucial for flax.
With an estimated increase of +2% compared with 2022, increasing total flax hectares to 147,000, French, Belgian and Dutch farmers are expressing their confidence in the market.
An industry that anticipates and adapts to new climate conditions with the possibility of long-term changes to weather conditions: both temperatures and climate hazards.
The supply for the spring/summer 2024 season - still underway - will be little affected by a potential deficit in flax fibre production caused by the 2023 harvest. Fibres from this harvest will only be extracted once the agricultural cycle is complete (pulling and then retting in the field) and the flax has been sent to scutching mills, i.e., in autumn 2023.
European Flax™** certified long fibre is maintaining its leadership, accounting for 3/4 of the global offering of long fibres despite challenges facing the industry in recent years: the COVID crisis in 2020 (production interrupted for six weeks to comply with hygiene measures), weather events in 2021, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and 2022 rise in energy prices, etc.
Those positioning and strategy are already being deployed by the Alliance for European Flax-Linen and Hemp as part of its operational action plan with brands and retailers.
*Scutching is the process whereby the components of flax straw are separated out: short fibres, long fibres, shives, seeds, through mechanical crushing and threshing. This term also refers to the industrial facility where this operation is conducted.
**Fibre used by Northwestern European scutchers is European FlaxTM certified, guaranteeing a plant fibre from agriculture that is eco-friendly, irrigation-free barring exceptional circumstances, and GMO-free.
The Alliance provides regularly information releases on developments in the flax fiber market and textile hemp production:
2024 - Flax fibre market and production of textile hemp : See information release 2024
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