Flax cultivation today in figures

It is undisputed that flax accounts for less than one percent of world fibre production. Further, especially current, figures are much harder to find. An attempt at a summary.

According to the website of the European Confederation of Flax and Hemp (CELC), 80 percent of the world's production of flax for the textile industry comes from Europe, with France leading the world market, followed by Belgium and the Netherlands. The agricultural industry association sees China as the largest producer in terms of area, with 260,000 hectares, ahead of France with 122,000 hectares. However, no differentiation is made here as to whether the amount produced is only used for the textile industry or also for other, technical industries, and Europe is actually the market leader for high-quality flat textile fibres. In addition, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Egypt still have smaller industrial flax cultivation.

If you set high quality standards for fibre yield, you can't get around flax from France and Belgium, and this is mainly due to the climate. Constant alternation of sun and rain, steady, not too strong wind, no late frosts and moderate temperatures in May and June produces the best fibre material. This also leads to the highest yields per unit area in the world being achieved in Western Europe. 70 to 80 percent of these yields are exported to China, because despite the better quality, the flax yarns for most linen products do not come from Europe.

China is the largest exporter of flax yarns and linen fabrics. The largest linen factory in the world, based in Harbin, China, alone produces 1000 million metres of linen per year. The European centre of linen yarn and fabric production is in Italy. In 2017, Italy produced around 15.8 million square metres of linen.

Interest in the natural fibre is growing among consumers, but not only among those who can afford or want high quality. Accordingly, Chinese low-cost production is also rising sharply, further reducing the quantities of flax available on the market.

During a conversation with Jakob Leitner of Leitner Leinen in Ulrichsberg, Upper Austria, it becomes clear that European linen production is heading for a problem. The entrepreneur, who only processes linen yarns from Italy, is increasingly confronted with supply problems. He is rather pessimistic about the future when it comes to still being able to obtain his raw material from Europe in five years' time.