Brands are reeling under rising raw material prices. Blake Kreuger, CEO, Wolverine says, his company plans to make “selective” product cost increases in the back half of 2021 due to rising supply chain and logistics costs, as well as growing costs of rubber, cotton, leather and other materials. As per Sourcing Journal, prices of all fibers have increased over the past month. The July New York ICE futures contracts of Cotton Incorporated rose to above 90 cents per pound from 78 cents. As per a Cotton Inc report, prices have been near 88 cents per pound.

The Cotlook A Index of average global spot prices increased to 95 cents per pound in early May from levels near 85 cents in early April, reports Sourcing Journal. US spot cotton declined 84.92 points from the prior week to average 84.03 cents per pound for the week ended May 6, reveals USDA. Though Cotton Inc expects stock levels and stocks-to-use ratios to decrease in upcoming crop year, USDA suggests, supply will remain elevated.

Despite COVID, the US is projected to export the third-highest volume on record, 16.3 million bales, during the 2020-21 crop year. With shipments to most other markets lower, this has been driven by business with China, says Cotton Inc. China will continue to increase purchases of US agricultural goods in the 2021. However, it may extend its agreement in 2022.

Owning to strong demand from China, prices for standard viscose have increased by 33.8 percent from the beginning of the year. In polyester, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported in its Producer Price Index that synthetic fiber prices rose by 6.1 percent in April compared to March and by 9.6 percent from a year earlier.

However, the prices of Australian wool trended downward for the first week of May. As per Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), the merino fleece sector registered the largest declines of up to 47 cents. The benchmark Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) finished the week 2.6 percent lower in dollar terms, to close at $10.19 per kilogram.