Without a doubt, hundreds of millions of crabs are swimming in Lake Maracaibo today. Roughly 100 tons of fresh crab meat per week (200,000 lbs) are currently coming through Miami. It is difficult to imagine that volume, given that the average local Maryland picking house picks about 400 pounds per day in total. So much crabmeat is being produced there that the market actually fell last week before Mother’s Day.
All the shippers, from the crabbers to the picking houses, are screaming that they are losing money or not making anything. The concern now is that, with the price so cheap, the government will probably step in to stop production and force prices up. They did this last November when prices got this low. The most likely scenario going forward is that the government will institute hard quotas for each shipper that they cannot exceed each week. In theory, the quotas will reduce the amount of crab meat on the market such that prices will rise slightly, but still remain under $20 on jumbo. We will see what happens this week.
Prices are subject to change.
5/15/23
