Lobster and king crab prices drop sharply due to Covid-19
For over a week now, many seafood restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City have had to continuously change their price lists for king crab and lobster (both imported and domestic).
"I have been in the seafood business for many years, but I have never seen imported seafood prices drop by 20-25% like this year. Especially when this is not the main fishing season for types such as crab and shrimp imported from the US and Canada," said a seafood restaurant chain owner in Ho Chi Minh City.
In fact, Alaska lobster imported from Canada and the US, instead of nearly 1.3 million VND/kg, is now sold by this owner's restaurant for 990,000 VND. The wholesale price at other places supplying this type of lobster is also at 650,000-900,000 VND/kg (depending on size). King Crab (king crab) retail price is 2.2 million VND now 1.8 million VND/kg, down 20-25% compared to the same period last year. Similarly, the wholesale price has also decreased to 1.3-1.6 million VND.
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| Canadian lobster. Photo:Tangier. |
In Vietnam, lobster export orders have also been canceled. Lobster prices in Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa have dropped by more than half compared to before Tet. Currently, flower lobsters are about 1.2 million VND per kilogram, baby lobsters are about 500,000 VND per kilogram.
The reason why seafood, which was once expensive, is now cheaper is explained by the business community as the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic is causing global consumption to decrease. A shop owner in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, said that some foreign partners are complaining of losses because orders to China were canceled. Therefore, they are forced to promote their products in the US, Thailand, Vietnam, etc.
