Chinese demand keeps price of lobster high
FIORDLAND Lobster Company is experiencing a swell in prices due to demand for lobster in China over the April and May festival season.
Company group general manager of sales David Prendergast said the price of lobsters had been about $NZ120 per kilo for about four weeks.
It was unusual for the price to be that high for so long, Mr Prendergast said.
The price of lobster ebbed and flowed, usually ranging from about $80 to $120 a kilo.
‘‘They are pretty good prices this year for the fishermen,’’ he said.
The word lobster describes the oceandwelling relatives of freshwater crayfish, but New Zealanders generally use the term crayfish for both species.
The price was buoyed by the US dollar being stronger in China this year, and the New Zealand dollar weakening, he said.
About 98% of Fiordland Lobsters’ product went to China. Mr Prendergast was expecting a drop in demand over the winter season, and another price peak in Sept ember and October.
Demand would also pick up again with Chinese New Year celebrations in January and February.
The company exported about 800 tonnes of lobster overseas each year, most of the product coming from Fiordland.
Shellfish were readied for export in depots in Fiordland and elsewhere in the country including the Dunedin facility at Sawyers Bay.
Over July and August demand for lobster dropped, and Mr Prendergast thought that was partly due to the heat in China at that time.
‘‘New Zealand lobster is regarded very highly for its texture, its succulent taste, and its sweetness,’’ he said.
The lobsters’ quality was due to them being slowgrowing, in cold water, Mr Prendergast said.
Those wanting to eat the delicacy at home last week could buy them at Harbour Fish in Dunedin at $85 a kilo for Karitane crayfish or $100 a kilo for the larger ‘‘national’’ crayfish, which are from Fiordland.