Hard crab landings in the Chesapeake Bay have increased big time in the last week. Several tractor-trailers of giant Louisiana crabs arrive daily (1000 bushels at 40 lbs each of live crabs per trailer), headed to retail crab houses in the Baltimore and D.C. metro area. Everyone is competing for “market share,” and currently, there is a “race to the bottom” in the hard crab business. At the same time, the catch in Lake Maracaibo is beginning to fall off as it typically does this time of year. Consumption of their meat is very high such that any drop in the amount of meat arriving in Miami will result in an immediate price increase. However, we feel price hikes will be small and incremental. (Full Newsletter)
6/13/2022