A Chinese ban on imports has left Australia awash in lobsters, to the point where prices have dropped by 50% or more.
Some 95% of Australia’s western rock lobsters had been exported to China before diplomatic tensions began to build up between the two countries. The trouble began last spring, when Australia pushed for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, which the Chinese government found offensive.
There has been no formally announced ban, but China started refusing lobster shipments in November, as part of an escalating trade war that also included barley, timber and other commodities. As a result, the price of live lobsters in Australia has dropped as low as US$30 per kilogram, compared with $100 before.
Lobster, a favorite during Australia’s hot-weather Christmas season, was more ubiquitous than ever over the holidays. Meanwhile, rock lobster has been disappearing from China’s food markets, even though the country has been trying to make up for the loss by increasing imports from the U.S., South Africa and other countries.
“It’s never been a cheaper time to eat lobsters in Australia. I tell every table to order lobsters,” an Australian chef told the Wall Street Journal.
