A poor winter on the east coast of the United States and increasing demand has caused lobster prices to increase significantly.
Businesses all along the U.S. east coast have seen lobster hit a price-per-pound that is, in some cases, nearly double what it was at the same time last year. Prices of USD 13 (EUR 10.8) per pound have been reported in multiple markets.
“It’s a double whammy of lower supply plus increase in demand,” said Michael King, purchasing director of King’s Seafood Company in Santa Ana, California, U.S.A.
King said the high prices have even lead the company to pull lobster out of King’s Fish House restaurants, as the high prices offer little value to guests.
John Norton, President and CEO of Cozy Harbor Seafood, a Portland, Maine, U.S.A.-based company, said lobster tail prices are very high, higher than they were in 2007. He speculated that the prices are so high because there wasn’t as much processed last year as had been in previous years. “Part of which is due to decline of catch in Maine, part due to the sloppy meat market,” he said.
Increased demand has also driven the price increases, according to King.
“It’s really Chinese demand. Talking to a lot of our suppliers back east, they’re doing double, triple, quadruple the business with China than they were five years ago as the Chinese middle class has accumulated more wealth,” King said.
He credits that in part to the increasing demand for seafood across the board in China, especially in the wake of World Labor Day on 1 May.
“That is a very important holiday for the Chinese and while we’ve heard a lot of back and forth between President Trump and President Xi about trade tariffs, Xi won’t put any tariffs on seafood coming from the U.S. because he realizes the symbolic importance of seafood to their culture,” King added.
Norton said he expects those prices will alleviate somewhat after the opening of Canada’s gulf fishery on 30 April. “It will give us a much better idea of hwat’s going to happen market wise,” he said. “I’m thinking industry-wide prices will come down a little bit, but still end up higher than they were last year.”
While that price may drop slightly, there’s signs that the increased demand coming from China for lobster – and more – is only just getting started.
“We’re seeing early reports from international online supplier Alibaba that protein from seafood will eventually surpass protein from pork in China, if it hasn’t already,” said King.
