Plunge in cotton prices unlikely to impact garment prices

30 May 2011 Evaluate

Though cotton prices are down 30% in two months, consumers are not going to be benefitted by the fall in cotton prices as large clothing companies have no plans to reduce prices and pass on the benefits. Cotton which is one of raw material accounts for around 80% of the garment production cost.

Cotton prices have increased by over 50% since August due to global production shortfall and it is a biggest concern for apparel makers. The prices of cotton softened from Rs 64,000 a candy (one candy is equal to 356 kg) two months ago to Rs 45,000 a candy in May. Since the cotton acreage has not kept pace with global demand over the past five years, the industry believes that this could be a minor correction and prices could peak again. Unless prices remain steady for a while, there may not be a change in pricing.

From sourcing yarn for fabric to production and retail sale, the apparel industry faces a time lag of seven months. Prices can drop at the earliest only from next February. Skumars Nationwide's stated that on increase in cotton prices they did not take up prices across the board but if they consider a price decrease it will be only in certain categories. An official of Arvind Lifestyle Brands commented that they will have to wait and watch to the extent of price drop being passed on but also expects a drop at the fabric unit level to happen in October only.

This year under the Union Budget the apparel industry has been directed to pay 10.3% excise duty. National retail chains by July will know clearly whether high prices have made any impact on consumer purchase while smaller players are already seeing a drop in demand after the retail price rise.

Kewal Kiran Clothing, which manufactures jeans under the brand name Killer and shirts, T shirts and trousers under the brand name Lawman, Easies and Integriti has already seen demand for shirts, T shirts and trousers going down by 8% to 9%. Ludhiana-based Duke Fashions that sells men's readymade apparel under the Duke brand has seen a fall in orders in both domestic and export market. The company’s export orders are down 15% to 20% along with facing a stiff competition from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and China. On the other hand in the domestic market, the customers are not ready to spend, leading to oversupply.

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