Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Commodities Prices are going up and up...

Cotton prices are up more than 90% over the past year! Wool and Latex have also seen substantial increases in the past year. Below are a few reasons why we are seeing these increases:
  • Floods & landslides have destroyed crops in China - the world's 3rd largest producer of cotton and Australia the world's 4th largest producer.
  • Pakistan has also had 30% of its cotton crop destroyed due to flooding.
  • India and China are seeing a surge in their middle class, so they are exporting less of their cotton goods and buying more latex for tire manufacturing
  • Inclement weather in South East Asia has reduced the production of latex thereby limiting supply.
The good news - more US farmers are planting cotton this year as prices remain high! Sticking with domestic raw goods means a lower carbon footprint and lower transportation costs.

For more information on commodities prices go the this link - http://www.indexmundi.com/commodities/?commodity=cotton