Demand continues to drive prices higher
It can take months before base prices are known for Bering Sea crab but all indications point to a good payday for fishermen and processors.
Alaska has wrapped up its small 2.3 million pound red king crab fishery at Bristol Bay while fishing continues for Tanners (6.27 million pounds) and golden king crab (4.88 million pounds). The snow crab fishery with a harvest of 4.72 million pounds gets underway in mid January.
The absence of Russian king crab has driven up demand for golden king crab, with the popular 16-20 size seeing a 38% increase from 2023 levels, reports global marketing guru Les Hodges.
Eastern Canada dominates the world market for snow crab and accounted for 92% of US imports through October.
Snow crab soars
Hodges said the 2024 Canadian snow crab season began with prices in April up 19% compared to 2023and remained flat until September. Fishermen agreed to a base price of $2.60/lb when this year’s fishery opened in April and are likely to see good retro payments.
Promotions in food service and retail were abundant, he added. By fall, inventories were limited, driving prices at the end of November over 45% higher compared to 2023. Snow crab is expected to be in short supply during the holiday season.
US imports of snow crab continued to decline in October. Year-to-date snow crab imports stand at 119.9 million pounds, a decrease of 4.7% compared to October, 2023. Norwegian snow crab imports, however, have increased by 12.3%, driven by rising US demand in 2024. Inventories are depleted and little additional volume is expected from Norway until the new season in 2025. Average snow crab import prices for the month of October increased to $8.16/pound from the earlier $7.25/pound range.
Market tracker Urner Barry reported that prices for Canadian Gulf of St. Lawrence 5-8 ounce snow crab increased again in November reaching $8.60 per pound at first wholesale. Year-over-year, prices on Gulf 5-8 ounce snow crab have climbed 47%, while 8+ ounce snow crab prices are up 42% to $11.85 per pound
In October, U.S. imports of Canadian snow crab fell 24% from September, totaling 1.833 million pounds.
According to NOAA data, US snow crab import prices across all sizes averaged $7.10 per pound through October.
In the US market, the tightening of crab supplies has continued to drive prices higher compared to this time last year, Hodges said.
Golden king crab 16-20 count is now up 38%, while Newfoundland and Gulf 5-8 ounce snow crab clusters have surged more than 45%.
Dungeness crab have experienced an even sharper increase, with prices soaring 107%. Meanwhile, large red king crab, particularly the 9/12 count sourced from Alaska or Norway, are commanding prices exceeding $46.00 per pound.
