The volume of fresh crab meat coming into Miami each week has significantly dropped as the catches in Lake Maracaibo are off by 30%. Suppliers wasted no time in pushing the price back up to a more traditional level for this time of year. We are in the mid $20 per pound range this week for fresh jumbo lump. The lump market has not moved as dramatically as the jumbo lump market. The price for fresh super claw is still $10 per pound.
The dramatic rise in the price of jumbo lump will undoubtedly cause some customers to change the mix of their crab cakes. We have 22 days left before crabbing stops in Venezuela. The season there will remain closed until late October. Fresh crab meat from Mexico will become our dominant source of supply, along with some domestic picking houses along the Gulf of Mexico, Carolina, and Maryland.
Prices are subject to change
7/24/23
