According to the information available the N.L. province’s fish price setting panel has agreed to decrease the price of the raw material for snow crab. Seafood producers are not happy with the decision saying that the changes don’t go far enough and this season’s fishery remains in jeopardy. It is nothing but very disappointing, admits Derek Butler, executive director of the Association of Seafood Producers, which represents most of the province’s 30-plus crab processing plants.
It is said that the seafood producers approached the fish price setting panel a week ago, requesting that the crab price be lowered from $1.55 per pound to $1.32 to reflect what they described as a dramatic weakening of crab markets in the United States and Japan. The fisheries union was vehemently opposed to any reduction, and suggested a temporary shutdown may be a better option.
The panel announced new price of $1.40 and is trying to make both sides happy instead of settling on a price that correlates raw material prices with market prices. According to Butler producers must now decide whether to continue money-losing operations, stop buying crab, or go back to the panel again. He noted that currency changes in the past two weeks means that even a price of $1.32 would be “rosy.” He said the most feasible price would actually be just above $1.20.
