Is Cotton More Expensive Than Polyester? 2026 Price Data
Yes, cotton is more expensive than polyester. As of April 2026, ICE Cotton #2 July futures settled at 79.45¢/lb (USDA AMS Cotton Market News, Apr 24, 2026), while US virgin polyester staple fiber traded at roughly USD 1,245/MT — about 56.5¢/lb (ChemAnalyst, December 2025). That is a spread of roughly 22¢/lb, or about 40%, with cotton priced higher. Cotton has been more expensive than polyester in nearly every year of the past two decades; the gap widens when crude oil prices fall and narrows — occasionally reversing for a few weeks — when oil spikes raise polyester production cost.
Most consumer-facing comparisons of cotton and polyester pricing answer the headline question with a one-line “yes, polyester is cheaper” and stop. That is not the same as showing the prices. The data below pulls from primary commodity sources — USDA ERS Cotton and Wool Outlook, USDA AMS Cotton Market News, ICE Cotton #2 futures, ChemAnalyst polyester staple fiber pricing, EmergingTextiles, and the EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook — to put a current $/lb number on each fiber, show a 10-year history, and break down why polyester is structurally cheaper through the petrochemical feedstock chain. Every figure carries a date and a source.
Cotton and polyester fiber spot prices, April 2026
The table below pulls together current cotton and polyester benchmarks. Cotton is reported in ¢/lb (US convention) and converted to $/kg using 1 kg = 2.2046 lb. Polyester is reported in $/MT (Asian convention) and converted to $/lb. Each row carries a source and a date — fiber commodity prices change weekly, so a value without a date is not a price.
| Fiber | Spec / grade | $/lb | $/kg | Geography / contract | Source | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upland cotton (US spot) | Color 41, leaf 4, staple 34, mike 35–36 | 0.7505 | 1.654 | US 7 designated markets | USDA AMS Cotton Market News (CN-WCMR Vol. 107, No. 38) | Apr 24, 2026 |
| Cotlook A-Index (world) | World benchmark | <0.80 | <1.76 | World | USDA ERS CWS-26c | Mar 12, 2026 |
| ICE Cotton #2 | July 2026 contract | 0.7945 | 1.752 | NY/ICE | USDA AMS / ICE | Apr 24, 2026 |
| ICE Cotton #2 | Dec 2026 (CTZ26) | 0.675 | 1.488 | NY/ICE | UGA CAES Field Report | Dec 8, 2025 |
| US upland cotton, season-average farm price | 2025/26 forecast | 0.60 | 1.323 | US | USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum | Feb 19, 2026 |
| US upland cotton, season-average farm price | 2026/27 forecast | 0.63 | 1.389 | US | USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum | Feb 19, 2026 |
| American Pima (Supima®) | CFR Far East 2025 average | ~1.72 | ~3.80 | US export benchmark | Fibre2Fashion TexPro | 2025 avg |
| Organic upland cotton lint (US, Texas) | Open-market range | ~1.27–1.74 | ~2.80–3.84 | US | USDA AMS Organic Cotton Market Summary | 2024/25 crop |
| Virgin polyester staple fiber (US) | 1.4 D × 38 mm semi-dull | ~0.565 | ~1.245 | US | ChemAnalyst PSF Price Trend & Forecast | Dec 2025 |
| Virgin polyester staple fiber (export) | FOB China | ~0.40–0.45 | ~0.890–1.000 | China | EmergingTextiles | Sep 2025 |
| Virgin polyester filament (PFY, global avg) | 75D semi-dull | ~0.72 | ~1.58 | global | Industry pricing data (GLYarn) | Q2 2025 |
| Recycled polyester filament (rPET PFY, global avg) | GRS-certified equivalent | ~0.83 | ~1.83 | global | Industry pricing data (GLYarn) | Q2 2025 |
The headline takeaways from the snapshot:
- Spread: US ICE cotton ≈ 79¢/lb vs US virgin polyester staple ≈ 57¢/lb, or roughly 22¢/lb (about 40%) of cotton premium. At export FOB China benchmarks (where polyester staple drops to roughly 40–45¢/lb), the cotton premium widens to nearly 80% on a $/lb basis.
- Pima/Supima premium: roughly 2–3× upland cotton on a $/kg basis.
- rPET premium: roughly 13–18% over virgin polyester filament as of Q2 2025.
- Farm-gate vs futures: US upland cotton at the farm gate (60–63¢/lb) is roughly 15–20¢/lb below ICE futures (which include logistics and storage), but still above virgin polyester staple at every published US benchmark.
Cotton and polyester benchmark prices, 2016–2026
A 10-year view shows that cotton has stayed above polyester in nearly every year of the period, with the gap widening during low-oil years (2016, 2020) and compressing during oil spikes (2022). The 2022 cotton peak (reported variously at 155.95–156.64¢/lb in USDA ERS historical series) followed the Russia/Ukraine commodity surge; the 2020 low of 48.35¢/lb followed the COVID demand shock. Polyester staple fiber FOB China traced its own band, generally between USD 700/MT (low-oil) and USD 1,300/MT (oil spike).
| Year | ICE Cotton #2 avg (¢/lb) | PSF China FOB avg ($/MT) | Notable event |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | ~70 | ~900 | Cotton recovered from sub-60¢ post-2014 surplus |
| 2017 | ~76 | ~1,050 | Stable supply year |
| 2018 | ~83 | ~1,150 | Tight US ending stocks |
| 2019 | ~67 | ~1,000 | US-China trade-war demand drag |
| 2020 | 48.35 (low) | ~750 | COVID demand shock; cotton hit decade low in April |
| 2021 | ~93 | ~1,050 | Recovery + supply tightness |
| 2022 | 156.64 (peak) | ~1,300 | Russia/Ukraine commodity spike; oil-driven polyester rise |
| 2023 | ~84 | ~1,050 | Cotton retraced from peak; oil eased |
| 2024 | ~78 | ~950 | India yarn market: Nov 10, 2024 cotton $3.12/kg vs polyester $2.04/kg (Fibre2Fashion TexPro) |
| 2025 | ~70–78 | ~890–1,000 (FOB China) | US PSF settled near USD 1,245/MT in December (ChemAnalyst) |
| 2026 YTD | ~71–79 (April) | ~900–1,000 | ICE Cotton #2 July 2026 = 79.45¢/lb (Apr 24, 2026); USDA expects Cotlook A-Index <80¢/lb for fourth consecutive season |
Annual averages reconcile with the 2020 COVID low (48.35¢/lb) and 2022 peak cited in USDA ERS historical series; PSF China FOB values reconciled against CCFGroup and EmergingTextiles 15-year databases.
The historical picture confirms the structural pattern: cotton is volatile (a 3.2× swing from 2020 low to 2022 peak), polyester is comparatively stable (a roughly 1.7× swing from low to peak in the same window). Cotton is exposed to weather, plantings, and ending-stocks dynamics — a single drought or pest cycle can cut supply by 5–15% in a major growing region. Polyester is exposed primarily to crude oil and naphtha, which move on a different cycle entirely. Both fibers reacted to the 2022 oil spike, but cotton overshot because the Russia/Ukraine commodity surge hit grains, energy, and fertilizer simultaneously, raising cotton’s input costs (fuel for irrigation, nitrogen fertilizer) at the same time speculators piled into all soft commodities.
The 2024–2026 stretch is unusual in that ICE cotton has held in the 67–80¢/lb band across three consecutive growing seasons — the longest period of low-volatility cotton pricing since 2014–2016. USDA ERS attributes the calm to adequate global ending stocks, no major weather disruptions in Texas or India, and slow yarn demand from a still-soft apparel cycle.
How is cotton priced?
US cotton has three reference prices, each used for a different purpose:
- ICE Cotton #2 futures (NY/ICE). The benchmark futures contract, traded on the Intercontinental Exchange. Used for hedging and commercial cotton trading. Quoted in cents per pound. The April 24, 2026 settlement for July 2026 was 79.45¢/lb (USDA AMS Cotton Market News). The December 2026 contract (CTZ26) traded near 67.5¢/lb on December 8, 2025 (UGA CAES Field Report).
- Cotlook A-Index. A world-market benchmark calculated by Cotlook Ltd. as the average of the cheapest five quotations from a basket of growths. USDA ERS uses Cotlook A as the world benchmark in the monthly Cotton and Wool Outlook (CWS-26c, March 12, 2026, projected the 2025/26 average below 80¢/lb for the fourth consecutive season).
- USDA NASS season-average farm price. The price US growers receive at the farm gate for upland cotton lint. The USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum (February 19, 2026) projected 60¢/lb for the 2025/26 marketing year and 63¢/lb for 2026/27. This figure runs roughly 15–20¢/lb below ICE futures because the farm-gate price excludes ginning beyond a basic level, storage, transport to merchants, and merchant margins.
For premium cotton grades, USDA AMS publishes weekly Pima Quotations that track American Pima (Supima®) on a CFR Far East basis. For organic cotton, USDA AMS publishes an annual Organic Cotton Market Summary, and the USDA Risk Management Agency publishes an annual Organic Cotton Price Premium (RMA Bulletin PM-25-068, November 19, 2025, for the 2026 crop year) used in federal crop insurance calculations.
For users looking at cotton properties beyond price, the polyester vs cotton fiber comparison covers moisture regain, durability, and breathability with the same data discipline. Pricing is one dimension among several.
How is polyester priced?
Polyester is not a single price either. Three layers matter:
- Polyester staple fiber (PSF). The short-fiber form used for spun yarns and most apparel. Reported on a $/MT basis. ChemAnalyst’s Polyester Staple Fibre (PSF) Price Trend and Forecast tracks US, Germany, and Korea quarterly; US PSF stood at roughly USD 1,245/MT in December 2025 (≈56.5¢/lb). EmergingTextiles tracks the Asian PSF benchmarks; FOB China for 1.4 D × 38 mm semi-dull was approximately USD 890–1,000/MT in September 2025 (≈40–45¢/lb).
- Polyester filament yarn (PFY). Continuous-filament polyester used for wovens, knits, and engineered performance fabrics. Q2 2025 global averages from industry pricing data: virgin PFY ≈ USD 1.58/kg, recycled PFY (rPET) ≈ USD 1.83/kg.
- Polyester staple fiber futures (Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, ZCE). China launched PSF futures on ZCE in 2019; the contract is now an active hedging tool for Asian polyester yarn producers and a transparent reference for daily PSF pricing.
The often-repeated competitor framing — “cotton is a commodity futures, polyester is dictated by trade relations” — is misleading. Polyester PSF and PFY are priced daily on Asian benchmark indices (CCFGroup, ChemAnalyst, Sunsirs, EmergingTextiles), and PSF futures have traded on ZCE since 2019. US trade relations affect tariffs and regional spreads but are not the price-setting mechanism. The dominant driver of polyester staple fiber pricing is the petrochemical feedstock chain.
Why polyester is structurally cheaper than cotton
Five structural reasons explain why polyester sits below cotton in nearly every year:
- Continuous-process manufacturing, no weather risk. Polyester is produced in petrochemical plants that run year-round. Cotton is an annual crop dependent on rainfall, irrigation, and growing-season weather. A single drought or pest cycle can cut cotton supply by 5–15% in a major growing region; polyester output is essentially unaffected by weather.
- Vertical integration and Asia-Pacific scale. Asia-Pacific accounted for 73.65% of global polyester staple fiber market share by volume in 2025 (Mordor Intelligence). PTA and MEG plants in China, India, and Indonesia are often co-located with PET resin and PSF production, which compresses logistics cost between feedstock and finished fiber.
- Petrochemical feedstock cost. PTA + MEG together typically account for the majority of PSF production cost; both move with crude oil and naphtha. Crude has averaged USD 70–85/bbl Brent in 2025–2026 (EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook), keeping PTA and MEG in a moderate cost band.
- Lower per-kg labor. Continuous-process petrochemical fiber production uses much less labor per kg of output than cotton’s plant-grow-harvest-gin cycle. Even where cotton is mechanically harvested and ginned, the cumulative labor input remains higher than polyester’s continuous extrusion.
- No biological waste. Cotton ginning generates seed (recovered for cottonseed oil and cattle feed) and trash; polyester polymerization can be tuned for nearly all output to become fiber. Polyester has yield advantages in pure conversion of feedstock to product.
The result is a structural floor under polyester pricing that sits below the floor under cotton. The two only converge when oil prices spike enough to push PSF production cost into cotton’s range — and even then, the convergence is short-lived.
Within the PSF cost stack, purified terephthalic acid (PTA) is the dominant input, typically accounting for roughly 50–55% of finished PSF production cost, with mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) at 15–20% and PET polymerization margin adding the balance (CCFGroup integrated-margin reference series). PTA itself sits two steps from crude oil: crude is refined into naphtha, naphtha is reformed into paraxylene (PX), and PX is oxidized into PTA. Each step adds a margin and is exposed to plant utilization and capacity additions in Asia. When crude oil prices rise, the full chain re-prices upward within weeks; the April 2026 cotton firming to ~79¢/lb is partly a symptom of higher crude pushing PSF cost upward and making cotton a more attractive substitute for spinners.
Recycled polyester (rPET) premium
Recycled polyester carries a 13–18% premium over virgin polyester as of Q2 2025 (industry pricing data; virgin PFY ≈ USD 1.58/kg vs rPET PFY ≈ USD 1.83/kg), down from 35–45% in 2020. The compression reflects scaled rPET capacity and stabilized bottle-to-fiber feedstock. The recycled polyester data review covers cost, microfiber shedding, and certification trade-offs.
Organic cotton premium
Organic upland cotton carries a 5–50%+ open-market premium over conventional (USDA AMS Organic Cotton Market Summary), depending on region, certification (GOTS, OCS), and contract structure. The Fairtrade International Minimum Price (effective October 1, 2025) sets organic at +10% over the non-organic minimum. The premium reflects 5–25% lower per-acre yields, three-year transition windows, and certification audit cost — not brand markup.
Pima, Supima, and Egyptian cotton premiums
Premium cotton grades trade at substantial premiums to upland cotton because they are different fibers with different yield characteristics:
| Grade | Fiber length | Approximate $/lb (2025) | Premium vs upland | Source / context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upland (Gossypium hirsutum) | 22–30 mm | 0.71–0.79 | baseline | USDA AMS Cotton Market News |
| American Pima / Supima® | 35–40 mm | ~1.72 (CFR Far East) | ~2.2–2.5× | Fibre2Fashion TexPro 2025 |
| Egyptian Giza 86 / 87 / 88 | 35–45 mm | ~1.6–2.5+ (CFR) | ~2–3× | Industry quotations |
| Organic upland (Texas) | 22–30 mm | ~1.27–1.74 | ~1.6–2.2× | USDA AMS Organic Cotton Market Summary |
| Fairtrade certified (organic) | varies | conventional minimum +10% | +10% over Fairtrade minimum | Fairtrade International (Oct 2025) |
Pima, Supima, and Egyptian Giza are all Gossypium barbadense. The longer 35–45 mm staple supports higher-count yarns (60s–100s) commercially infeasible with shorter 22–30 mm upland fiber — a real fiber-property differential, not pure brand markup.
Cotton vs polyester retail product price comparison
A typical retail USD 25 cotton t-shirt contains roughly USD 0.20–0.40 of fiber. Commodity cotton at 75¢/lb implies less than 25¢ of lint in a 250-gram tee; even at the 2022 peak of 156¢/lb the fiber input was under 50¢. The remaining USD 24+ is yarn spinning (ring-spun costs more than open-end), knitting, dyeing, finishing, cut-and-sew labor, brand markup, retail margin, and certifications such as GOTS or OEKO-TEX Standard 100.
| Garment | Pure polyester | 50/50 blend | 100% cotton (combed ring-spun) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain crewneck T-shirt (Hanes/Gildan tier) | ~$4–6 | ~$5–8 | ~$8–14 |
| Queen flat sheet (mass retail) | ~$10–18 | ~$15–25 | ~$25–45 |
| Men’s straight-leg jeans (mass retail) | rare in 100% | ~$12–20 (poly-cotton-elastane) | ~$22–40 |
| Chef’s apron | ~$8–12 | ~$10–15 | ~$15–25 |
The pattern across mass retailers (Target, Walmart, JCPenney) and basic-tier brands (Hanes, Gildan): 100% polyester is the cheapest, blends sit between, 100% cotton is the most expensive within a comparable construction. The retail spread is much smaller than the commodity spread because labor, dyeing, finishing, and brand margin dominate finished-garment cost. For how construction affects value at a given fiber price, see the shirt fabric types breakdown.
Cotton-polyester blend pricing
Blends sit between the two pure fibers on a $/yard basis. 65/35 polyester-cotton (the dominant uniform/workwear blend) typically runs 10–25% below 100% cotton at equivalent yarn count; 50/50 runs 15–30% below; 80/20 cotton-polyester runs close to pure cotton (the 20% polyester saves only a few percent). Linen-polyester blends follow a similar pattern with a wider gap — see the linen polyester blend analysis.
Cotton and polyester price outlook for 2026 and 2027
Forward indicators as of early 2026:
- Cotton (USDA Cotton Outlook 2026 AOF, February 19, 2026). Season-average farm price projected at 60¢/lb for 2025/26 and 63¢/lb for 2026/27. The Cotlook A-Index is projected below 80¢/lb for the fourth consecutive season per USDA ERS CWS-26c (March 12, 2026).
- December 2026 cotton futures (CTZ26). Settled near 67.5¢/lb in early December 2025 (UGA CAES Field Report, December 8, 2025). Optimistic-case range: 69–73¢/lb. Pessimistic-case range: 61–66¢/lb.
- April 2026 spot. ICE Cotton #2 July 2026 contract settled at 79.45¢/lb on April 24, 2026 (USDA AMS Cotton Market News). The firming above the 67.5¢/lb December outlook reflects the spring oil-cotton coupling — higher crude raised PSF production cost, which compressed the cotton-polyester spread and supported cotton.
- Polyester (ChemAnalyst PSF Price Trend and Forecast). US PSF held near USD 1,245/MT in December 2025; FOB China remained in the USD 890–1,000/MT band through late 2025 and early 2026. Forward outlook depends primarily on crude oil — EIA STEO projections for 2026–2027 Brent will set the polyester staple cost floor.
- Recycled polyester premium. Industry pricing data through Q2 2025 shows the rPET premium at 13–18%, down from 35–45% in 2020. No structural reason to expect a sharp reversal — capacity continues to scale.
- US cotton policy. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (HR1, signed July 4, 2025) reauthorized EAATM with a 5¢/lb payment to qualifying US textile mills using domestic upland cotton — a modest floor under the US cotton-to-mill spread.
The dominant pattern through 2026 and into 2027 is expected to remain cotton above polyester, with the spread modulated by crude oil. If oil drops substantially, the spread widens; if oil spikes, the spread narrows. Neither USDA’s forward outlook (Cotlook A-Index <80¢/lb for a fourth consecutive season) nor the published PSF forecasts from ChemAnalyst point to a sustained reversal of the cotton-above-polyester relationship at any plausible 2026–2027 crude oil scenario. The most likely shock that could compress the spread to near-parity is a sustained Brent move above USD 100/bbl, which would push PSF production cost into the 75–85¢/lb range and bring polyester within striking distance of US upland cotton.
Sources
Cotton and polyester benchmark prices change weekly; every figure here carries a date. Primary commodity and regulatory sources: USDA ERS Cotton and Wool Outlook (CWS-26c, March 12, 2026); USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum (February 19, 2026); USDA AMS Cotton Market News (April 24, 2026); USDA RMA Bulletin PM-25-068 (November 19, 2025); ICE Cotton #2 Futures; EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook. Industry pricing data: ChemAnalyst PSF Price Trend and Forecast; CCFGroup; EmergingTextiles; Fibre2Fashion TexPro; Mordor Intelligence (2025). Standards: Fairtrade International (October 1, 2025); Textile Exchange Materials Market Report.
For properties beyond price — moisture regain, durability, breathability, microfiber shedding — see the polyester vs cotton comparison. Cotton vs polyester sheets and bedding pricing follows the same fiber-cost pattern, with construction (percale vs microfiber, GSM, thread count) often dominating retail price-quality.