Last week, Preston, Washington-based SanMar hosted a webinar entitled “From Cotton to Textiles: Production, Consumption and Future Implications” with Robert Antoshak, managing director of apparel and textile consulting firm Olah Inc. Topics included price trends, farming and manufacturing predictions, global consumption, and government impact on cotton value.
Environmental factors damaging production and increased demand from countries such as China have been cited as causing the price of cotton to hit $2 a pound for the first time, but Antoshak explained that multiple other factors contributed to raise the price to the current rate. “Of course there’s demand for cotton from the textile and supply chain … but then there’s also the oil and seed businesses, the foodstuffs business [and] the food additives business that also pull on cotton product and create additional pressures on the price of cotton,” he said.
As profits increase, Antoshak believes farmers will begin to focus on cotton production. Despite that, he explained that the time required to grow cotton as well as the limited acreage available mean cotton volumes will not be high enough to drive prices down to 2008 levels.
“There’s no reason to believe that global demand will not stay at current levels,” he said. “Production will go up and will try to meet demand, prices have the potential for easing somewhat, but I don’t see it going back to $0.65 a pound. Having said all that, I think the shortage is at least continuing through 2012.”
To hear Mr. Antoshak’s predictions for the future and suggestions for manufacturers and distributors, view the archived webinar on SanMar’s website here. A brief explanation about why cotton prices have been changing is available at www.textileforecast.com.
For more information, visit www.sanmar.com.
