Florida spiny lobster prices are strong this season, thanks to increased demand from China and somewhat lower production.
The spiny lobster season runs from August through March and is one of Florida’s top commercial seafood products in dockside value.
“The export market to China on live has been doing very well,” one producer told SeafoodSource.
“I understand that the price is up because China and other countries are buying it and propping up the market,” said one distributor.
In addition, production started off high and has since tapered off. Last season, production remained steady throughout. “People are asking for it more. Everybody knows that they are in season and expects to see them, but we haven’t been getting that many in,” said one Florida wholesaler and retailer.
As a result, the season-opening wholesale prices rose to around USD 7.78 a pound, which is around USD 2higher than the starting price of the 2010-11 season. Current wholesale prices range from USD 6 to USD 6.95 a pound. Retail prices on spiny lobster range from USD 10.99 to USD 12.99 a pound.
Because of the strong price, one distributor has had trouble moving spiny lobster domestically. “It is not a big seller to begin with, for my accounts, and the price has put a disadvantage on it. The price has been up 25 to 30 percent this season compared to last,” said the distributor.
Boosting the export market is the fact that some producers have configured holding tanks to keep the lobsters live; these lobsters bring a higher price than the lobsters stored on ice, said an industry source. While the export of live spiny lobster to China has increased, exports of frozen lobster are “slow,” according to producers.
“We are still making sales, but it is not doing as well as last year, partially because Japan got hit by the tsunami,” said a producer.
Overall, production is expected to be equal or better than last year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWC). For 2010, the FFWC reported a total of nearly 6 million pounds of spiny lobster, which were harvested at an average dockside price of USD 6.17. The total value of the market was USD 35.5 million in 2010.
