(Yicai) Nov. 21 -- The price of duck down, often used in clothing, bedding, and jackets due to its insulating properties, has kept soaring since the start of this year, with the first cold wave across the Chinese mainland last month boosting demand and accelerating the rising pace.

The price of 90 percent white duck down has exceeded CNY570 (USD80.19) per kilogram after starting the year at CNY425 (USD59.79) per kg, according to the latest data from Down Golden Network.

Changes in supply and demand have mainly driven the recent price hikes, Wang Xiao, a duck down trader, told Yicai. A nationwide cold snap in mid-to-late October depleted duck down and duck feathers inventories at once, leading to a supply shortage, Wang pointed out.

Despite duck down prices being lower earlier this year than the highs of last year, they have now surpassed them after the latest round of price soaring since last month, Wang noted, adding that some merchants are asking for over CNY640 per kg.

Another reason for the recent sharp increase in duck down prices was that farmers began to cull many old ducks due to the continuous decline in duckling prices in the first half of the year, which led to a drop in the number of ducks capable of producing down in the second half, according to Wang.

After goose down prices surged last year, some down jacket brands reduced the use of goose down and increased that of duck down to lower production costs, Wu Yu, operations director of Down Golden Network, said to Yicai. This further contributed to the tight supply of duck down.

However, the room for further increases in duck down prices is very limited, Wang said. The price is already at a near record high, lacking momentum for further jumps, so it will likely mainly fluctuate at a high level over the next period, Wang added.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev