Crayfish prices rise due to abnormally cold spring

• Source: Global Times
• [09:40 April 27 2010]
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A female vendor weighs crayfish Monday on Shouning Road. Photo: Duan Wuning

By Duan Wuning

With crayfish season drawing near, city diners are finding that the price of the little lobsters has skyrocketed, and the recent abnormal weather may be a reason.

"This April is colder than usual, and the cold weather has been going on for a while. Crayfish grow slower in cold weather, and they tend to gather at the bottom of the lakes, which is harder to harvest." Wang Yongqiu, director of Jinhu Restaurant Association in Jiangsu Province told the Global Times.

Shouning Road is known as Shanghai's "crayfish street", hosting over 20 restaurants selling crayfish, and a chef at one of those restaurants, surnamed Wang, told the Global Times that the price is up to 60 yuan ($8.79) per kilogram this year, a 20 percent increase compared to last year.

"That's because the wholesale price we get is higher than normal. At good times, it's 30 yuan ($4.40) per kilogram, but these days it's around 36 yuan ($5.27). We have to raise the price", said Wang. "We own three shops, and sell about 1,000 kilograms of crayfish per day."

Tongchuan Fisheries Market, the largest aquatics product wholesale market in the city, sells over 14,000 kilograms of crayfish per day to local retailers.

"We have had less crayfish in the past few weeks. It's only at two thirds of the normal quantity, and the crayfish we get are comparatively smaller in size," a wholesale vendor with Tongchuan told the Global Times.

The crayfish provided are mainly from Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province. Jinhu, in Jiangsu Province, provides 5,000 kilograms of crayfish to Shanghai every day, and the price is up 10 yuan ($1.47) to 20 ($2.93) yuan per kilogram this year.

Crayfish is a hot late-night snack option for local Shanghainese, especially in summer. It's usually served boiled with spicy seasonings.