"100 yuan 3 catties, a variety of flavors to choose from"...... In the spring, everything recovered, and the first batch of crayfish this year has been "fresh" on the shelves, but the price has dropped significantly compared with previous years, and even the wholesale price has been "cut in half" compared with last year. The information about the price reduction of crayfish once appeared on the hot search on the Internet.
As soon as it was listed, the price was "diving", and the crayfish could not be sold? Are the restaurants still making money? What kind of changes will the crayfish catering market usher in?
Courtesy of Visual China
Wholesale prices plunged
"In previous years, we didn't start to sell until after the Qingming Festival, but we sold crayfish at the beginning of March this year. Aunt Liu, who opened a shop at the Fanchang Road Farmers' Market in Yaohai District, Hefei City, Anhui Province, said.
Affected by the climate, this year's crayfish went on the market early, but the price dropped a lot, and even almost "halved". Taking a farmer's market in Hangzhou as an example, the price of crayfish at the end of March this year was reduced by 60% compared with the same period in 2023, and the fresh crayfish of Hema were only on the market for one month, and the price of some stores was as high as 4%.
At around four o'clock in the afternoon, two pots of live crayfish were placed in front of a restaurant in Nanhu, Nanjing, and the boss was busy washing the shrimp and preparing to cook for the evening. The boss said frankly that this year's crayfish are cheap, and there are too many restaurants that make lobsters now, and their own business is not as good as in previous years.
Sun Xiangzhu, who is engaged in the wholesale business of aquatic products in Nanjing Zhongcai, said that the crayfish listed in Nanjing are mainly Hubei shrimp, and the wholesale price of four or five or six dollars has dropped to more than 20 yuan per catty, and the local shrimp in Jiangsu will be listed in about a month later, and it will be cheaper at that time, with a minimum of only a dozen yuan a catty.
Crayfish are prominently placed in front of many aquatic product stalls at a farmers' market in Xuyi, Jiangsu Province. At present, the price of "Xiaoqing" with 1 to 3 yuan is 22 yuan per catty, the price of "Zhongqing" with 4 to 6 yuan is 35 yuan per catty, and the price of green shrimp with more than 6 yuan is about 50 yuan per catty.
"In February last year, our 'Daqing' was able to sell more than 80 yuan a catty, and this year it was only more than 40 yuan a catty. At present, the shrimp seedlings are only a few yuan a catty, which is much lower than in previous years. Tian Zhongling, general manager of Qianjiang Shrimp Jump Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd., Hubei Province, introduced.
Talking about the price of crayfish "diving", Sun Xiangzhu said that in addition to the suitable temperature and fast growth of crayfish this year, the main reason is that the amount of crayfish breeding has increased year by year, the market supply is sufficient, and there has even been an oversupply in some areas, which has made the price of crayfish decline significantly. An industry insider who has been engaged in the crayfish business in Qianjiang, Hubei Province for more than 10 years also said that now the breeding model is becoming more and more mature, the production capacity has also expanded, the industry has become mature, and the shrimp seedlings are more popular. ”
Courtesy of Visual China
Prices at some restaurants remained firm
The wholesale price of crayfish has dropped significantly, while the sales price of restaurants has shown a clear polarization trend. While roadside restaurants have thrown out "100 yuan and 3 catties" promotional prices, some Internet celebrity lobster shops have taken the "atmosphere" route, attracting customers through the environment, side dishes, and drinks, maintaining a high price similar to last year.
From braised to fried, to spicy, minced garlic, chilled, and thirteen spices, the same crayfish has made dozens of flavors. Moreover, in the past two years, eating crayfish is no longer a single eating attribute, with the intensification of market competition and changes in consumer tastes, crayfish restaurants have also continuously adjusted their business strategies to adapt to market changes.
Camping, modern, prom...... F&B design plays with new tricks. A number of restaurants have combined crayfish eating habits with local culture – Wuhan's Fatty Shrimp Village and Yellow Crane Tower are co-branded, while Liangliang Steamed Shrimp has chosen to cooperate with Hubei Province's intangible cultural heritage "Chu Opera". In addition, a variety of marketing formats such as self-service, cloud shrimp eating, and online live broadcast have also made eating crayfish more interesting, and the social and entertainment functions have become increasingly prominent.
For the category of crayfish, there is no doubt that it is experiencing a round of "catering industry upgrading". Industry insiders said that these new ways to play attract more customers, but they also require a large cost of investment.
According to the person's analysis, the average gross profit margin of crayfish farming is about 40%, and for restaurants, the gross profit margin of selling crayfish dishes can reach more than 50%. From the perspective of food and beverage outlets, although the purchase price of crayfish has decreased, restaurants still need to consider the cost of rent, labor, seasoning and other costs when setting prices, so although the wholesale price of crayfish has declined, the selling price of some food and beverage outlets may not drop significantly. In order to maintain profits, F&B outlets may attract consumers by offering better services, introducing new flavors, etc.
Yin Hao, executive chairman of the Hubei Shrimp and Rice Industry Association, said that at present, the main consumer of crayfish is the young people represented by the "post-90s", who have strong purchasing power and good consumption power. As a result, "the sales channels on the store business line are very bright. For example, in the three days from March 23 to 25, the number of online orders reached 60 million, a new high. ”
Courtesy of Visual China
A crayfish sets a city on fire
Crayfish is not only a delicacy, but also an important means to boost consumption.
In the past ten years, crayfish, the "top snack", has been occupying the position of the "big brother" of China's catering products. The consumption of crayfish in Beijing, Nanjing, Wuhan, Shanghai, Hefei, Hangzhou, Changsha, Wuxi, Suzhou, Huai'an, Changzhou and other cities is more than 10,000 tons per year. From the reckless snacks in the market to the hundreds of billions of Internet celebrity delicacies, the "energy" of crayfish is so great that it can even set a city on fire.
Take Jiangsu Xuyi as an example. Up to now, Xuyi crayfish breeding area has reached more than 80 million mu, with an annual output of 170,000 tons and an annual output value of 19 billion yuan. Xuyi took the lead in launching the "shrimp and rice symbiosis" planting and breeding model in the province, which increased the average income per mu by more than 2,500 yuan compared with the traditional "one rice and one wheat" model, and benefited more than 4,000 large planting and breeding households. The lobster industry has become the first industry in the local area to enrich the people. "Shrimp and rice symbiosis" has also led to the development of the secondary industry of Xuyi lobster, and further lengthened the processing industry chain. In terms of lobster processing, the county has an annual output of more than 10,000 tons of whole limb processing and finished quick-frozen lobsters, with an output value of 500 million yuan. In terms of seasoning processing, there are more than 70 lobster seasoning manufacturers, with an annual output of more than 10,000 tons of seasoning and an output value of more than 500 million yuan.
In Qianjiang, Hubei Province, a lobster industry pattern integrating breeding, catering, cold chain logistics, deep processing and e-commerce has been formed, and the comprehensive output value of the "shrimp-rice" industry has exceeded 75 billion yuan. Guo Song, director of the office of Qianjiang Crayfish Trading Center, said that from January to March this year, the center's crayfish trading volume was more than 29,600 tons. The crayfish industry has become an important characteristic industry that empowers rural revitalization and strengthens the regional economy.
According to official disclosure data, the output value of crayfish catering in 2022 will be about 312.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3%. In 2023, the total output value of crayfish is expected to exceed 500 billion yuan, and the aquaculture output will exceed 3 million tons.
Although the price of crayfish has "dived", the market still has broad development prospects. Guo Song said: "In the later period, as the temperature rises and the consumer market warms up, the trading volume and transaction price of finished shrimp will be relatively stable. ”
Zhang Liya tidying up