Jeans Prices Going-Up, as Denim Prices Hiked

Denim products are likely to get costlier as manufacturers in country's largest denim producing countries like India have hiked the fabric prices amid soaring cotton and polyester prices, industry sources said on Monday.

We have increased the denim prices by 5 percent over the last one month or so. It is now available at US$ 2.02 per meter against US$ 1.91 a month ago," said managing director of a Indian denim production company.

This denim production company has manufacturing capacity of 60 million meters of denim per annum, out of which around 20 to 25 per cent is exported. Exports, however, are dependent on currency fluctuation, the managing director says.

The Indian state of Gujarat manufactures over 250 to 300 million meters of denim per annum, making it the largest producing state in India, it is also the state where most of the leading Indian textile houses are located.

So far most textile houses which produce denim have increased the per meter denim price by 5 to 5.5 percent and with cotton and polyester prices ruling firm denim manufacturers expect another 3 to 4 percent hike in prices to come into effect by March, a industry source said.

According to a source, the cotton prices have gone up by 30 percent in the last few months, and cost of polyester has also gone up considerably.
The outlook for denim is positive as the fabric is likely to remain the flavor amongst consumers, in the coming fashion seasons. If the cotton prices do not soften then its going to be a challenging year ahead for denim.