European lobster and crawfish imports show positive volume trend during 2004

The weak dollar appears to have boosted lobster and crawfish* consumption in Europe during 2004. Combined lobster and crawfish imports in key markets such as Spain and Italy as well as crawfish imports in France increased in volume terms during the first nine months of 2004 compared with the same period in 2003. However, imports in value terms declined over the same period suggesting a negative trend in import prices, at least in euro terms.

* Includes sea crawfish and rock lobster

France: negative value trend for lobster and crawfish imports

Influenced by the weaker dollar, French lobster and crawfish imports remain on a downward trend in euro terms. Total imports were worth €136 million in 2003, a drop of 5% on the previous year. Figures for the first nine months of last year point to a further decline for 2004 with the value of lobster imports down 12% and crawfish imports down 14%. The situation for French volume imports is somewhat different with crawfish and live lobster imports slightly up during January – September last year while frozen lobster imports fell by 20%.

The USA remains the leading supplier of live lobsters to the French market and, based on January – September figures, is likely to have increased its share of this segment last year following an 18% jump in volumes sales to France.

Retail sales of large crustaceans in France are highly seasonal – over 75% of annual crawfish sales are sold over the Christmas / New Year period. During December, most French hypermarkets carry a range of lobster and crawfish products with frozen crawfish the dominant category. This latter segment, covering cooked and raw crawfish (whole, halves and tails) includes both private label and producer label products. In the Paris region, sample hypermarket prices for frozen crawfish during the fourth quarter of last year were within the €18 to 35/kg range. Frozen whole lobsters of Canadian origin were retailing in Parisian hypermarkets at around €12 – 14/kg during this period.

Spain: recovery in imports during 2004

Following a decline during 2003, figures for the January – September period 2004 point to a recovery in Spanish lobster and crawfish imports last year with total volumes up 13% on the corresponding period for 2003. This increase is due to an 18% rise in lobster imports and a 50%+ jump in live and chilled crawfish volumes. Frozen crawfish was the only category to continue the negative trend with a volume decline of 7% following a significant fall in imports from Cuba, the leading supplier to Spain.

As in other key European markets, unit values for the various import categories were down in 2004 compared to the previous year.

Italy: USA dominates lobster imports

2004 has been a positive year for Italian crustacean imports with increased volumes during the first nine months for shrimp, lobster and crawfish. In line with the Spanish experience, combined imports of lobster and crawfish increased by 6% during the January – September period of 2004 compared to the same period in 2003. Lobster volumes were up 7% to 2 700 tonnes while crawfish imports increased by 4% to 930 tonnes. The USA continues to dominate the live lobster category, accounting for around 80% of imports, while Canada is the leading frozen lobster supplier. The increase in crawfish imports was due essentially to a more than doubling of sales of live / chilled product from South Africa.

Outlook: future dollar rate a key parameter

The dollar euro rate will continue to be a key influence on the evolution of European crustacean prices over the coming months. At the same time, the effects of the recent poor North American lobster harvest and the subsequent jump in prices in the USA should help moderate any downward price trends resulting from further weaknesses in the dollar.

Gerry O'Sullivan, GLOBEFISH
© 2005 FAO