WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT

Today’s Market Driven By High Quality

Changing Environment
Advances in textile spinning technology have made saints out of the cotton buyers of yesteryear. Fifty years ago, the crusty cotton buyer was happy to get a lot of cotton that graded at SLM-one inch. Today, that buyer is looking for an M 1 3/32 or better and grams per tex well into the 30s. Any cotton of lower quality carries a discount in today’s market – either a direct discount in loan differences or an indirect discount brought about by limited demand.

The age-old request from the mill buyer of 50 years ago is truer today than ever before. He wants a fiber that is “as long as a well rope and stronger than steel.” He also wants it to be “white as an angel.” Not surprisingly, global mills and merchants have come to realize that FiberMax cotton can indeed meet these requirements and deliver to the customer.

Quality Improves Profits
During the past seven years, producers have sought to maximize their incomes and have learned that quality is a major contributor to their bottom line. Some have noticed recent changes in the CCC loan differentials and the ever increasing price advantage favoring quality cotton. Other producers have noticed that fiber produced from older varieties are bringing discounts to the prices they receive. The cotton market – just like other markets – rewards quality.

Single Pricing Point
This trend has become increasingly true now that the U.S. share of global cotton production has declined. International mills have demonstrated a willingness to battle it out by offering increased premiums from time to time for the limited quantity of high-quality cotton. Quality has become the single pricing point for most mills. These same mills also have responded to demand from recognized retail brands asking for higher quality jeans, skirts and other cotton goods. It all begins with quality yarn, and, as some Hong Kong textile executives recently told me, their mills say that the best yarns come from FiberMax cotton.