We pay these high prices because we still want to quilt. I shop around a lot, get what I can online - I can import fabric from the US, and even with shipping it's cheaper than my LQS.
I know that Ireland and the UK also apply customs charges on imported fabric. I don't get 'caught' all that often, but when I was in business in the UK and ordered some bolts from the US, the customs charges added another £1 per yard on to what I had already paid, and that was 15 years ago.
Of course we envy you the bargains you all seem to get, we are only human.