Just 12 months ago, pasteurized Indonesian jumbo lump was selling for a record $50 or more per pound. By the 4th of July, this year, it was in the low $30s/lb range. Just 45 days later, we are now in the low $20s/lb range, a whopping 60% drop in 12 months.
In 2022, seafood commodities, especially shellfish prices, went through the single largest dollar reset in the seafood industry’s history. As we look back on this year, it is plain to see that the trillions of dollars injected into the U.S. economy in 2020 and 2021 reverberated through many aspects of the seafood industry, causing mind-boggling price fluctuations. The consumer “demand equation” behaves much like a chemical equation: “for every action there is a reaction”. At $50 per pound last summer, crabmeat demand destruction was in full swing. This year, the 60% drop in the wholesale price is the producers’ attempt to woo those consumers back to crabmeat. Similar “demand destruction” stories can be found in the snow crab and king crab markets.
Prices are subject to change.
9/06/2022
