NATION'S BADMINTON BOOM SENDS SHUTTLECOCK PRICES SOARING

Shortage of duck, goose feathers along with greater player participation spikes demand

The moment Li Yaxi saw the notice of a price hike for shuttlecocks in mid-March, her heart sank. She immediately contacted her suppliers while calculating her cash flow.

"We moved as quickly as we could to prepare the money and grab all the supplies we could get our hands on," said Li, who runs six badminton training centers in Beijing under her company Poyan Sports' umbrella. Her company has been training young badminton players since 2017.

Each tube of midrange shuttlecocks costs 70 to 80 yuan ($9.70 to $11.10). With her players training up to 18 hours a week — many of them play six hours a day on weekends — the costs pile up quickly.