Hairy crabs ushered in the peak production in the past three years, the quality has improved, but the price has fallen out of the "cabbage price"

At present, hairy crabs have entered the peak sales season, and some data show that the production and quality of hairy crabs have increased this year, but the price has fallen sharply, and even the phenomenon of "halving" has appeared. Why is that?

You can buy one for 10 yuan, and the crab falls out of the "cabbage price"

After autumn, the temperature is high, but the temperature difference between morning and evening is large, and the fatness of pike crabs and hairy crabs is constantly improving, but the price has taken a big dive, and some have even fallen out of the "cabbage price".

On November 8, early in the morning, the stall owners selling crabs in Nanjing's Jinxianghe Market began to get busy. They greeted customers while expertly tying up the crabs that were jumping around one by one. Depending on the weight and quality, each crab is marked with a price, and the cheapest one can be bought for 10 yuan.

Image source: Screenshot of CCTV financial report

The crab seller said, "The price is cheap, this year is the cheapest, and this year has a lot of production." The cheapest male crab in our family is about 3 taels 2, the female crab is about 2 taels, 10 yuan a piece, and the most expensive is 25 yuan a piece. ”

Image source: Screenshot of CCTV financial report

According to the seller, since November, the production of crabs has increased significantly, and the price is much cheaper than the Mid-Autumn Festival on the National Day. In addition, now the male crab has quickly hoarded autumn fat, and only fat and strong.

In addition, the merchants of Chongqing Huachun Aquatic Fresh Market said: "The price of hairy crabs this year is generally low, and our purchase price this year is 60 yuan a catty, which is more than a dozen yuan lower than last year." The price is also lower, and the price is the highest around the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, and a 2.5 taels of female crabs sells for about 30 yuan. ”

Farmers near Taihu Lake said that the price of crabs has been reduced since October 5, "mainly because the price of large crabs has been reduced more, and the small ones have basically not changed." According to Shu Xing, the previous 3 two female crabs were 40 yuan/piece, and the 3.5 two female crabs were 60 yuan/piece, but now they have dropped to 35 yuan/piece and 50 yuan/piece, respectively; Previously, 4 taels of male crabs were 40 yuan/piece, and 4.5 taels of male crabs were 60 yuan/piece, but now they have dropped to 36 yuan/piece and 45 yuan/piece respectively.

Production increased, but consumer demand fell

Some data show that the production and quality of hairy crabs across the country have increased this year, but consumers are "not paying".

"In recent years, the national output of hairy crabs has stabilized at 700,000-800,000 tons, and this year's output should be more than 800,000 tons." Cheng Yongxu, a professor of the Department of Aquaculture of Shanghai Ocean University and an expert in the freshwater crab ecosystem breeding of the shrimp and crab system of the national modern industrial technology system, said that compared with last year's unfavorable weather such as freezing and high temperature, this year's crab breeding sites have smooth wind and rain and suitable climate, and hairy crabs have ushered in the peak output in the past three years.

In addition, Yao Shuisheng, director of the Information Office of the Suzhou Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crab Industry Association, also said in September that the total output of hairy crabs in Yangcheng Lake this year is expected to be about 11,000 tons, an increase of about 1,600 tons over last year.

This year, the production and quality of hairy crabs have improved, but for crab farmers, a good yield does not mean a bumper harvest. Wuhan, Guangzhou, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou and other places have seen the phenomenon of hairy crabs "hitting historical lows".

Zhu Danpeng, an analyst of China's food industry, told Zhongxin Jingwei that in the past few years, hairy crabs should be said to be in short supply, and then many crab farmers expanded production. A few years after the expansion, the sequelae appeared, and there was an oversupply.

In addition to the relationship between supply and demand, changes in consumer demand are also an important factor affecting the decline in hairy crab prices.

"Business is not good this year, and there are generally fewer people buying crabs than last year, and I feel that many people's desire to buy hairy crabs is not very high." Ms. You, who runs the "Sun Island" seafood restaurant in Chongqing's Sanya Bay Aquatic Products Comprehensive Trading Market, reflected.

Zhou Xuelong, a breeding expert known as "the first person to raise crabs in Yangcheng Lake", said that this is due to the fact that the economy is still recovering, and consumers' purchasing ability and willingness to buy have declined.

Some online e-commerce platforms, false publicity, crab card chaos, etc., will also affect consumers' desire to buy to a certain extent. "Whether it's a crab card or an e-commerce company, there are too many chaos in this piece of 'selling dog meat on the head of a sheep', high price and low quality, and shoddy quality, which will affect some people's desire to consume hairy crabs and their confidence in consumption." Zhu Danphong said.

This year, the relationship between supply and demand in the market has changed greatly, and hairy crabs have generally entered a cycle of price diving, but Zhu Danpeng believes that the rigid demand for high-quality hairy crabs still exists objectively. "In the future, the market will recover steadily, but maybe it will be a little slower."

As for issues such as the chaos of e-commerce platforms, he suggested that platforms should have access mechanisms, and there should also be mechanisms for elimination and punishment of unscrupulous vendors.

Source: China-Singapore Jingwei Comprehensive from CCTV Finance and Economics, 21st Century Business Herald Original title "Hairy crabs fell out of the "cabbage price", why is no one still eating? 》

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