Price of crayfish jumps 10-20%

The price of crayfish in Shanghai is up 10 percent to 20 percent compared with the same period last year, the local fishery trade association said.

The price will fall in late May to almost the same level as when plenty of crayfish came to market in 2013, said Fan Shoulin, secretary-general of the Shanghai Fisheries Trade Association.

Crayfish, which are usually boiled in spicy seasoning, are a delicacy in Shanghai, especially when the weather is warm.

Currently, crayfish that weigh from 20 grams to 30 grams, the most popular size on the market, costs 20 yuan per half kilogram, said Ni Zhijun, the person in charge of market information at the Tongchuan Road Seafood Market.

The market sells 13 tons to 15 tons of crayfish during the week and 20 tons on weekends, Ni told the Global Times.

Shanghai residents consume about 70 tons of crayfish per day from June to September, when the freshwater crustacean is in season, according to a report on the news website eastday.com.

Most of the crayfish sold in Shanghai come from Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Anhui and Hubei provinces, Fan told the Global Times.

The Xuyi crayfish, widely considered to be the best variety, fetch higher prices. A Xuyi crayfish that weighs 35 grams to 45 grams costs 30 yuan per half kilogram.

A Xuyi crayfish that weighs 50 grams costs 35 yuan per half kilogram, according to Zhao Jianmin, secretary-general of the Xuyi Crayfish Association in Jiangsu Province.

The industry in Xuyi will harvest 60,000 tons of crayfish this year, 20 percent of which will be sold in Shanghai, Zhao told the Global Times.

The price of crayfish has also increased slightly at local crayfish restaurants. Crayfish that weigh 30 grams to 45 grams cost 40 yuan per half kilogram, up from 37 yuan in 2013, according to a waiter at a local crayfish restaurant on Laiyang Road in Pudong New Area.