Too Expensive to Eat... Snow Crab Prices Up 20% Compared to Last Year Due to US-China Conflict

Arrival Volume Also Decreases by 31% Compared to Last Year

As the tariff war between the US and China continues, the import of Russian snow crabs into China has increased, leading to a rise in domestic snow crab prices.

According to the weekly seafood market trends at Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market on the 17th, the price of snow crabs from the 7th to the 12th was 41,100 KRW per kilogram. This is about 20% higher compared to the same period last year, when the price was 34,100 KRW. It is also 10% more expensive than last year's average price (36,300 KRW).

The volume of snow crabs arriving at the market has also significantly decreased. During the same period, a total of 5,336 kg of snow crabs were brought into Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market, down 31% from 7,722 kg in the same period last year.

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The industry cites the main reason for the rise in snow crab prices as the increased consumption of Russian snow crabs within China. The global snow crab market is mainly dominated by Russia, North America (the US and Canada), and Norway. Chinese consumers have primarily consumed the more expensive but better-tasting US snow crabs. However, due to the US-China conflict and the resulting strong anti-American sentiment in China, consumers have come to prefer Russian snow crabs. Since Korea also imports most of its snow crabs from Russia, the supply has become scarce, leading to higher snow crab prices.

In fact, according to the US Department of Agriculture, the export value of US snow crabs to China and Hong Kong from January to February was 141.36 million USD, an 11% decrease compared to 159.83 million USD in the same period last year. On the other hand, China's imports of Russian snow crabs have increased. According to the recent "China Fisheries and Seafood Expo," China's imports of live king crabs and snow crabs from Russia reached 35,000 tons last year, up from 30,000 tons the previous year.