(Yicai) July 19 — A shortage of duck feathers in China has already increased the prices of other feather-based products such as badminton shuttlecocks and may also push up the price of padded winter jackets, industry sources told Yicai.
Prices for white goose feathers, which make up 90 percent of down jacket stuffing, rose 35 percent from January to 1,220 yuan (US$168) per kilogram this month, according to the China Down website, and are currently at a record high.
Many sporting goods makers, including Japan’s Yonex and China’s Double Happiness, have already raised shuttlecock prices by 40-60 percent.
Shandong Zhongxin Food Technology told Yicai that the shortage is linked to fewer ducks and geese available on the market. Poultry farmers had been raising more animals in 2019 after the African swine fever outbreak caused pork shortages and a surge in demand for chicken and duck meat, but as pork supplies recover and prices fall, they are looking to reduce their numbers.
The number of ducks available for sale in China fell to 4.2 billion from 4.8 billion last year, according to the China Animal Agriculture Association, while the number of geese has fallen to 520 million from 630 million.
According to Zhongxin Foods, outdoor sports activities in winter have also seen a surge, increasing demand for down jackets.
According to its latest earnings report, Henan Huaying Agricultural Development sold 7,112 tonnes of duck down to major down jacket manufacturers such as Bosideng and Li Ning in 2023, helping its sales revenue rise 22.9% year-on-year to 2.1 billion yuan (US$301.3 million), accounting for 59% of its total sales.
Zhang Qiong, general manager of Chang Yuan He Feed Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Shandong Weifang Tianhe Feed Co., Ltd., said that new national standards have made the quality of down jacket fillings more stringent, increasing demand for down. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has also led to an international supply shortage of down, causing prices to soar.
Due to a shortage of raw materials, prices of down jackets have been on the rise over the past two years, increasing by an average of 20 to 30 percent, Zhang added.
Editor: Kim Taylor
