In the race for market share, the cotton industry faces strong competition from chemical fibres. Today, chemical fibres account for more than half the world's consumption of textile fibres, an increase of over 20 per cent since 1966 - most of it at cotton's expense. Furthermore, synthetic production is expanding at an increasing rate and synthetics are expected to capture a greater share of the growing world fibre market. Cottons traditional advantages - price and performance - no longer hold true. Cotton is no longer king.