The war between the United States and Iran is lowering lobster demand and growth for lobster exporting businesses, according to Tangier Lobster’s Stewart Lamont.
The fourth-generation exporter, which ships wild-caught lobster globally from Atlantic Canada, said that despite the war, lobsters are still being shipped to the Middle East, especially to HORECA clients.
Tangier said that the major freight fowarders he works with have told him that “somehow business [is] being done to a greater degree [in the region] than they could have imagined under the circumstances.”
That said, the war is lowering the amount of lobster his clients are willing to commit to buying. Lamont said that his biggest client in Dubai had significantly lowered its regular order from Tangier since the start of the conflict.
The biggest effect of the war for his industry may be more long-term, however. Prior to the start of the war, Lamont said that his company “had greater interest in new relationships in the Middle East than … anywhere else.”
“We had a lot brewing,” he said. “All of that has fallen with a clink in the last six weeks.”
Tangier said that prices for lobster from Atlantic Canada are currently relatively highly-priced — between CAN 11-13 (USD 8-10, EUR 7-8) depending on size — because the fishing season started with a string of stormy days that lowered catch amounts. However, prices at the dock have dropped around 25 percent since the start of the season, and he expects them to continue their downward trajectory.
This is good for Middle East business, he said, which is as driven by price competition as any lobster-buying region, despite Western perceptions of wealth driving luxury purchasing in the area.
He also explained that most of his HORECA clients in the Middle East demand much longer contracts than his American clients, which limits his business’ ability to trade with them. These buyers require contracts spanning thirty, sixty, or ninety days, and Tangier cannot regularly commit to prices that far ahead of time due to fluctuations in the dock prices of lobster in Atlantic Canada.
“That level of risk is insane, but if all your competitors are willing to do it, companies find themselves willing to do it as well,” Lamont said.
