Current trends in flax (the plant that makes linen) harvesting in 2023 (as of July)

Comparing spring 2021 to 2023, there has been a price increase of approximately 1.4 times.

This is not the price in Japan, but the price in the production area (the Chinese market where many linen spinning factories are located) as an indicator. Therefore, the exchange rate situation (the weak yen in the first half of 2023) is not related. The price of yarn has risen purely, and now in August 2023, linen raw materials in Japan are even more expensive due to the weak yen.

The focus right now is on the harvest situation in Flanders (the main producer of flax) in 2023. Linen buyers around the world have high hopes for the harvest volume and quality, which will have a major impact on market trends.

The Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp has reported on the status of the July–August harvest. The following is an excerpt from the report (some parts overlap with the introduction in the thread).

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Temperatures have been above average for the season and precipitation has been low in Flanders, which has had a major impact on flax cultivation. Due to the poor weather conditions, sowing took place this year from March to mid-May (usually it only lasts until mid-April).

Due to subsequent bad weather, farm work did not go smoothly.

The harvest is expected to be 2% higher than last year, and the total cultivated area has increased to 147,000 hectares.

Through the process of letting the material sit in the fields to break down the fibers, the amount of fiber will decrease by about 26–36%, so it is not yet clear how much of the raw material will ultimately be able to be secured.

Climate change is expected to have a long-term impact on flax cultivation, and agricultural research is underway to reconsider the main cultivation period (March to July). New varieties have been developed for this purpose, and this year, 2023, 10,000 to 11,000 hectares have been prepared for early sowing. Will this help expand market supply? Hopes are high.

Early planting (flax sown in winter) is expected to expand in 2024, but it will not be able to keep up with the growing demand in markets around the world. Agricultural productivity will improve gradually. However, there is still strong upward pressure on prices. The current high price of flax raw materials is said to be “historic” even in Europe. (End)

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The European Flax Cultivation Report concludes that while stabilizing prices is important, communicating with the end market is even more important.

With the growing awareness of climate change worldwide, plant fiber materials are attracting attention. It is easy to imagine that linen materials will be in demand in various parts of the world where extreme heat continues. In the past few years, the balance between supply and demand has shifted significantly, and supply shortages have become the norm. To balance this market, it is necessary to increase harvest yields, but this is not easy because the industry is based on agriculture.

The harvested raw materials move from retting to scutching in September, and attention is focused on October onwards when the net quantity of linen and raw materials is finally determined.