Growing demand from China for American lobster is slowly sending prices up – good news for dealers in both Nova Scotia, Canada and Maine, USA.
According to the Bangor Daily News, prices are well past USD 20 (EUR 18.32) per pound, and last year exports to China from the United States alone totaled 8,560 metric tons, 22 times more than in 2009. The newspaper article noted about 60,000 lobsters are shipped to China every week.
Among the reasons for the surge in interest, the paper cited a growing middle class interested in high-end food products, a jump in product volume in 2012 that sent prices plunging, and a lack of Australian rock lobster sending Chinese buyers to other outlets for the crustaceans.
Signs of the upward trend have been apparent at least since November of 2014, when Chinese consumers using the online retailer Alibaba.com purchased 90,000 Nova Scotia lobsters in a single day, as part of the “11-11” singles holiday.
