Price of Lobster in North America Plummeted by Coronavirus. The outbreak of the new coronavirus in China has caused the prices of lobster in North America to plummet.
The outbreak was not long before the Chinese New Year, which generally causes peak crowds for the lobster exporters thanks to the rising demand in China.
The sudden disappearance of that question is, according to entrepreneur Stephanie Nadeau of The Lobster Company in the US state of Maine “like a slap”.
In better times, she exported 1000 boxes of about 15 kilos each with live lobster to China every week. There are now 120. Nadeau says that she has already sold almost 25,000 kilos of lobster at a loss and that she has to dismiss staff.
The United States has been the leading supplier of lobster to China. They lost that top position when China introduced additional taxes in 2018 in retaliation for imposing tariffs on Chinese products by President Trump.
But Canadian exports to China have also fallen. And lobster from that country now also floods the American market.
The price of a 1.5 kilo New England lobster is currently around 8.50 dollars, 17 percent less than at the start of the year and the lowest price in four years.