Gulf of Maine (GOM) Fishery Status Updates Canadian lobsters making massive inroads in China; consumers told not to discard the claws SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Hexun] Translated by Amy Zhong - Dec 16, 2014 REPRINT WWW.SEAFOODNEWS.COM please feel free to comment below Canadian lobster sales in China are soaring with widespread consumer discussions of how they differ from the standard Crayfish or Australian Lobster. Chinese women have taken to Wechat to post pictures and discuss their lobster dishes. In most cases, live Canadian lobsters are priced at about 1/3 the level of Australian, and consumers are responding. There are now over 200 online stores selling Canadian lobster, and there is every indication that consumption is reaching a critical mass that will have widespread and longterm ramifications for the North American lobster supply chain. Below is one of our reports from the newspaper in Hangzhou: Can you imagine spending about one hundred yuan buying a lobster for dinner? It used to be regarded as a fallacy, but now it comes true. A batch of lobsters from Canada have been served on the table of Chinese consumers recently. Wei is a regular shopper of Taobao and she has been tempted by these low-priced large lobsters, which have been sold on the Internet, although she hesitated because of her friends’ warning that the lobster texture would not be good if they turned out dead upon arrival. Wei rushed to pay 158 yuan to order a lobster at the weight of 700g when she saw that the lobster sales had been on the rise and its sales volume was even close to 20 thousand last month. After some calculation, Wei found that the price of this lobster was only about half of those which she had bought in the farmers’ markets. Actually the lobsters are the updated version of crayfish, said Wang, a manager of some Hangzhou restaurant. Although the lobster front claws are fleshy, it is not suitable to be cooked as sashimi because it is difficult for the meat to melt in the mouth. A batch of lobsters have been flown from Canada to Shanghai and they need to overcome the jet lag here. Recently many housewives have shown off their dishes of high-end lobsters in Wechat. Guo is one of them and she has told the reporter that, “My friend has sent me the link of a website which sells lobsters at very low prices. A lobster of around one jin (1 jin = 0.5 kilo) is only sold at about one hundred yuan ($16.50), so I couldn’t help buying one.” Guo has received the lobster the day after she placed the order and she cooked a dish of grilled lobster with cheese and garlic that night. The lobster is quite fresh and its two claws are quite fleshy with chewy meat. The lobsters Guo talked about are those Boston lobsters from the Atlantic maritime coast of Canada and they have been very popular seafood during the past few months. As the statistics show, there have been over 90 thousand Canadian lobsters sold in China on Single’s Day in November. And there are more than 200 online stores selling Canadian lobsters and some lobsters are even priced below one hundred yuan each in these stores. “Our store has begun the selling of Canadian lobsters since this July and last month we have handled over 20 thousand orders from our customers. We have got quite favorable feedbacks from the consumers and some customers even buy lobsters several times in one month”, said Yue, the staff from Zhangzidao’s online store. These live large lobsters have been flown to Shanghai from Canada and the staff need to help them overcome the jet lag through raising them in the low-temperature tank for about seven to eight hours after the lobsters have traveled for around 12 to 20 hours. “This can not only invigorate the lobsters but also rid the lobsters of the nitrite components.” Some experienced buyers have also share some tips. For example, it is necessary to inspect the lobsters immediately after they are delivered to you and do not sign for the lobsters if they are not fresh. And if you don’t eat the lobsters on that day, the lobsters need to be wrapped in wet towels and then stored in the refrigeration chamber. If you don’t eat the lobsters within two days after they arrive, it is better that you process the lobsters and put the lobster meat in the frozen chamber instead of raising them in the water. Canadian lobsters are the updated version of crayfish. Although the claw meat is not tender enough for sashimi, it is a pity to dispose the claw. The consumers have been able to buy and enjoy the lobsters at home as they wish for some time now. And the trade agreement between China and Australia will bring the elimination of 15% tariff rate of Australian rock lobsters, which means that the consumers will be able to eat the lobsters at a even lower price. But the price of Australian lobsters is not low even if they are not compared with the domestic crayfish which are in the same family with them. “The quality of these lobsters are good and the price is about one thousand yuan for those weighing about 2 jin each.” The reporter has compared two lobster stores in T-mall, the Taobao mall, and there are great differences in their sales volume. The monthly sales volume reaches as high as 22 thousand for Canadian lobsters, while it is only 12 thousand for Australian lobsters . “As a matter of fact, Australian lobsters have the best quality in the lobster family and they belong to the high-end seafood. It is not the seafood common in every family and its price is over twice of that of Canadian lobsters”, said Wang from the Hangzhou restaurant. The Australian lobsters are sold at about 500 yuan/jin, while its minimal price is over 300 yuan/jin. The Canadian lobsters are in fact the updated version of crayfish. They have two claws, but they are smaller than the Australian lobsters and the meat is only enough for one person. The front claws are fleshy and different lobsters should be cooked in different ways, said Wang. For example, it is good to make the sashimi of Australian lobsters, while it is not so for the Canadian lobsters, because their meat is not tender enough and it can’t melt in the mouth, added Wang. “So Canadian lobsters taste well when they are cooked with noodle or pepper salt. And it is not difficult to cook them at home by yourself. Remove the lobster heads and then they are very easy to cook.” ________________________________________ John Sackton, Editor And Publisher SeafoodNews 1-781-861-1441 Email comments to jsackton@seafood Copyright © 2014 Seafoodnews RELATED STORIES: » 12/19/2014 Moncton airport adding extra C.A.L. rotations to ship lobsters to Belgium » 12/12/2014 Bad weather, strong demand, pushes up live lobster prices at double their average rate this month » 12/9/2014 Nova Scotias entire economy poised to boom from huge spike in overseas live lobster demand STORY TAGS: Lobster Story Posted: 12/16/2014 10:56:38 AM Gerald Posner, MSSM Columbia University, Master in Sustainable Science Management Cornell University, B.S. Agriculture & Life Sciences
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 00:24:48 +0000
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