Prawns are still priced to please
SEAFOOD lovers might find supplies of wild caught prawns are harder to obtain this Christmas.
But in Townsville tough competition among operators could see prices come in under $ 40 a kilogram for a quality product.
Ingham Road Seafood operator Mark Partland said they had already secured supplies of wild caught king, tiger and Endeavour prawns.
But he said supplies of locally caught prawns had been difficult to obtain.
“Some of the prawns have been hard to get. King prawns have been extremely tough to get. But we will have supplies of king prawn and tiger prawns,” Mr Partland said.
Mr Partland could not say what had caused the supply difficulties but industry bodies such as the Queensland Seafood Marketers Association say prawn supplies are tight around the country on the back of booming demand from China for Australian wildcaught prawns and import restrictions.
Mr Partland said they had their stocks of prawns frozen, ready for the Christmas rush.
He also said Townsville was fortunate to have access to locally caught product and a competitive retail market which delivered lower prices than in southern markets.
“Prices in Townsville are always competitive. They are a lot cheaper than down south,” Mr Partland said.
He said they would retail cooked prawns from $ 26.50 to $ 43 per kg, depending on size.
He said king prawns would typically sell for $ 37.90kg.
“We won’t run out. We have a good local supply,” he said.
Prices for cooked tiger prawns in Sydney are hitting $ 45kg – up $ 15 on the same time last year – with predictions prices could surpass $ 52kg by Christmas.
Mr Partland said their bugs – also locally caught – would retail at just over $ 40kg.
Mud crab prices would be settling closer to Christmas.
“The prices ( of mud crabs) are affected by the Sydney Fish Market. It just depends on supply,” he said.