Thanks to warmer temperatures in the Southern U.S. this December, crawfish have come in early in large quantities, leading to better prices than last year.
“It’s a good start. The weather has been really warm, so we have had crawfish since October and the sizes are good,” said Frank Randol, owner of Lafayette, La.-based Randol’s, a crawfish processor.
“The Mississippi River is high, so some of the wild crawfish is starting to show up. They are coming out a lot faster this year than last year,” said Wayne Hess, purchasing director and operations director for American Seafoods in New Orleans. “It should be a really good year, if it stays warm.”
However, since most consumers in the South do not use much crawfish until New Year’s Eve and beyond, prices are lower than usual.
“Prices are lower because supply is exceeding demand,” said Brett Borges, purchasing director for New Orleans Fish House in New Orleans.
Buyers report prices as low as USD 2.25 (EUR 2.05) a pound at the dock and USD 3.50 (EUR 3.20) per pound wholesale.
“Crawfish is very available this year, so the price cheaper than the same time frame last year, when it was over USD 5 (EUR 4.57) a pound wholesale,” Hess aid. “Right before the first of the year, the Mardi Gras music will start playing and people will be getting crawfish on their mind more.”
“People aren’t accustomed to eating them right now,” Randol agreed. “They eat oysters at Christmas and crawfish after the first of the year.”
“Super Bowl really starts an upward trend [in demand for crawfish], and then Mardi Gras,” Borges said.
