Silk, cotton and wool prices are rising fast as production cuts triggered by a decade of low prices filter into the supply chain just as global demand for the natural fibres is reviving.
The trend makes it likely that the cost of fabrics will surge, inflating consumer prices or cutting profits if textiles companies choose to absorb the increases.
The price of silk is at its highest level in at least 15 years, according to Chinese and European merchants; coarse wool, used in carpets, is at the highest level since at least 1980, according to data from the International Monetary Fund, while US cotton futures in New York are trading near a 14-year high.