Drought conditions in the US have pretty much nothing to do with the price of quilting cottons, nor does the price of raw cotton for that matter. The price of raw cotton, in fact is dropping like a rock...and has been since it's peak in March 2011. It's down 45% for the last year (7/11-6/12), down 19% for the last six months (1/12-6/12), and down another 20% in July. Today's price per pound is less than the July 2007 price.
http://www.indexmundi.com/commoditie...tton&months=60
Quilting cotton prices are affected by the value of the US dollar; the growing conditions in China, Pakistan and India; the duties placed on imports; the reduced number of print mills; all kinds of worldwide factors. Quilting fabric is neither milled nor printed in the US any longer. You have to look at the much bigger picture.
This article dates back to the high point last year, but the scope of the market remains the same.
http://www.americanquiltretailer.com..._Customers.pdf
Please note, I am not 'dismissing' any US drought conditions as unimportant, for clearly their impact on many millions of citizens is and will continue to be enormous in ways we don't even grasp yet. I just don't see how the price of a yard of Moda Marbles has anything at all to do with it.