By Sarah Fuller
Despite a slow start, Texas crawfish production remains steady, and consumers can expect an average season amid ongoing demand, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts.
Todd Sink, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension aquaculture specialist and director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Aquatic Diagnostics Laboratory, Bryan-College Station, said that while the harvest delay may initially result in some limited in-store availability, overall farm inventory is on par with an average year, and the supply lag should resolve as harvest ramps up.
“In terms of production, crawfish farms are having a normal year,” Sink said. “The only thing we’re seeing is the product didn’t make it to retail vendors as rapidly because of the late January freeze that slowed harvest for a few weeks.”
Strong demand and steady prices
Crawfish prices typically start higher at the beginning of the season, peak around Lent — the 40-day religious observance leading to Easter — and taper off as the season slows in early summer.
Currently, live crawfish average around $5 per pound in Bryan-College Station and over $4 per pound in the Houston area. Few, if any, retailers currently have crawfish in stock in the Dallas and San Antonio areas.
Source : tamu.edu