The price per metre of denim or cotton fabric from India is driven by the yarn it is made from, the weight and construction, the dyeing and finishing, and the size of the order. A quote means little until two mills are asked for the same fabric. We do not publish prices, because a figure copied from a website is out of date within weeks.
An FOB quote covers the fabric, packing and delivery to the Indian port, with export clearance done. It does not include sea freight or insurance, and so it should be compared with other FOB quotes only.
Which costs make up a fabric price?
Most of a fabric's cost is the yarn. Cotton is the largest single input, so the cotton market feeds through to every quote. Read how cotton prices reach fabric and garment costs for how that passes along the chain.
After yarn come weaving, then wet processing: desizing, dyeing, printing and finishing. Wet processing uses water, chemicals and power, and in the Gujarat clusters it is a large part of the cost of a finished fabric. Packing, inland transport and export documents are smaller items.
What makes one denim quote higher than another?
These are the specification points that move the figure most. Check each one is the same across the quotes you compare:
- Weight in ounces per square yard, because a heavier denim uses more yarn. See denim weights from Indian mills.
- Yarn count and type, including open-end, ring-spun or slub, and the fibre blend.
- Stretch content, such as elastane, which adds a costly yarn and a harder weaving process.
- Dyeing method: rope dyeing and slasher dyeing differ in cost and look, as set out in indigo rope dyeing versus slasher dyeing.
- Finishing, such as sanforising, mercerising or special coatings.
- Width, because a wider fabric uses more yarn per metre.
Why order size and colour count matter
Mills run fabric in batches. A small order in an unusual colour or construction needs a separate setup on the loom or in the dye house, and the cost of that setup is divided across fewer metres. That is why a minimum order and a minimum per colour exist. If you can use a mill's standard constructions and shades, you avoid most of this.
Payment terms also feed into price. A mill that is paid in advance quotes differently from one that carries credit risk.
How to get a comparable FOB quote
Send the same specification sheet to every mill. Include the fibre, the weave, counts, density or weight, width, finish, shade and the shrinkage, colourfastness and tear tests you will apply. State the quantity, the packing method, the delivery date, the port and the payment terms. Ask the mill to state how long the quote is valid, and what happens if cotton moves before you confirm. If you also want to read cotton fabric price per metre quotes from several mills side by side, convert each to the same width and the same weight first, because a quote per metre of a narrow, light fabric is not comparable with one for a wide, heavy fabric.
Treat a quote that looks far lower than the others as a sign that something in the specification has been quietly changed. Look at the weight, the width and the count first.
Compare the offers on a spreadsheet by line, and do not compare the totals only. Buyers who do this often find that the difference between mills is in the dyeing and finishing, not in the greige fabric. The comparison with other producing countries is covered in Indian fabric prices versus China, Bangladesh and Turkey.
Next step
A real quote comes from a sourcing review and a written specification. We find and audit mills, collect comparable quotes and have the lots tested before they ship. Book a free sourcing review and send us the fabric you want to match.