The global trend of prices of raw textile materials has been that of decline. The price of Chinese cotton now stand reduced by 40 per cent as compared to the cost of the fibre in January 2014. The drop in the prices has been linked to the downward tumble of price of crude oil and gas which made the logistics cheaper. The lowered oil prices have also contributed to reduction of cost of polyester yarns – a derivative of the crude oil. At the same time, Australian wool prices had been relatively stable in AU $ last year, but they became cheaper in US $ terms due to the strong US $. While there are eminent indications of reduced price of raw materials, industry experts are sceptic if the development will have any bearing on the cost of apparel products as while at the manufacturing stage the cost of fabric can constitute up to 70 per cent of the total cost, at the retail stage the cost of fabric is a negligible 10 per cent.
