Ex-vessel sales of langoustines (Nephrops norvegicus) in the two important European markets of France and the United Kingdom decreased significantly in the first quarter of this year, with the depleted supply leading to much higher prices.
Also popularly known as “Norway lobsters,” “scampi,” or “Dublin Bay prawns,” the Q1 first sales volumes of this crustacean species fell by 50 percent in France and by 40 percent in the United Kingdom year-on-year, according to new data from the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA).
Consequently, the first sale price in France for the three-month period averaged EUR 13.13 (USD 15.28) per kilogram, an increase of 22 percent compared with Q1 2017. For March alone, the price increased by 25 percent compared to a year previously, reaching EUR 13.10 (USD 15.25) per kilogram.
Langoustine prices in this market tend to peak at the year-end. In December 2017, they reached EUR 20.82 (USD 24.23) per kilogram.
Meanwhile, the average first sale price in the U.K. market for January through March 2018 was EUR 4.38 (USD 5.10) per kilogram, which was 10 percent higher than in the first quarter of last year.
France’s main langoustine landing ports are in Southern Brittany, while the majority of products landed in the United Kingdom are at the Scottish ports of Fraserburgh, Peterhead, and Mallaig.
