Cotton Prices have gone down
 

My cousins husband who works in the cotton industry indicated to me that cotton prices have gone down. When I checked the prices are indeed less than 50% of what they were last year. Why are we not seeing the price of good quality fabric decreasing? I know there is a long lead time from the purchase of goods to the distribution of fabric, but does any one know if we can expect a decrease any time in the future. Anyone associated with fabric companies out there?

It's like when several years ago all of the prices went up for everything and they blamed it on gas prices but when gas prices went down all of those prices stayed up. They know they can get the money so they aren't going to lower them now that they are up. More money in their pocket. With the gas; it 's crazy but people do start watching how much they use and cut back so they have to adjust it but I guess we don't do it enough with other products to make them lower those prices.

Like you I sure havent seen the prices go down on fabrics or clothes made of cotton - we can only hope

How many times have you seen prices go DOWN? They go up so easily and quickly, but usually don't go back down to where they should be.

Hahaha. For a moment I thought I was reading a Ditter43 posting!!!!! Please don't hold your breath

I'm not an Economics expert but I do know this about a free enterprise system: the price for sale by the vendor must reflect the cost of requiring the goods from their suppliers. What is in the stores now was made with higher priced cotton; so to recoup their costs the retailer must keep their prices at a level that allows for that. Hopefully going forward when new lines debut made with the lower priced cotton the consumer will benefit. Retailers are you listening? Whatever you may think of Walmart their sale strategy of "rollback prices" translates into higher volume of sales. (tap tap) Is this mic on?

Last Saturday at my LQS we were told that although cotton prices have gone down, gas prices have gone up. Since the cost of transporting fabric is more, we won't see the prices going down until gas prices decrease. From my experience, once prices go up, they seldom go back down again.

Cotton costs only account for about 15% of your fabric prices. A much larger portion of the fabric cost is due to oil prices, which affect the price of fabric at every stage. Oil prices are up, a lot.

Other factors are also creating increases in the cost of quilting fabric;

Shortages in the supply of the type of greige goods used to make quilting fabric due to cotton being diverted to other uses, such as clothing. The remaining goods are in short supply, thus cost more.

Shutdowns and re-purposing of printing mills used in the production of fine quilting fabrics are causing backups and delays in production. Manufacturers are able to produce fewer lines but have the same standing costs.

Less demand for higher quality goods due to consumers' demands for low prices means less high-quality goods will be produced, and those will cost more.

Rising standards of living in countries like Korea, China and Indonesia, where most of your quilting fabric and greige goods are produced, means higher salaries and higher prices.

I don't expect to see fabric prices come down anytime soon, if at all. The best you can expect is that the rate of price increase may slow down.

MY LQS said that prices were slowyly coming down. She has refused to up her prices over 9.99. She gave up the punch cards to keep her prices down. She knows she is making a smaller profit. but she does what she can to keep customers coming in the door. I would rather shop there than at Wal Mart since I get the individual attention.

Please ask your local quilt shop owner who she's buying her fabric from. I'd like to know, since prices from all our distributors are continuing to rise. Thanks.