Lobster trade slowing down

Canada is by far the largest exporter of live and frozen North American lobsters (Homarus americanus), followed by the United States of America. However, Canada is now facing stronger competition from US exporters on both European and Asian markets. US exporters offer “firm-shell” live lobsters at prices well below Canadian “hard-shell” lobsters. Firm-shell lobsters have not yet grown their shells to hard-shell status, and are suffering from a much higher mortality rate, often between 10 and 20 percent. Hard-shell lobsters are also considered to be of a higher quality than firm-shell lobsters. The lowest grade is soft-shell lobsters, which are used mainly for processing. 

The price difference at the wholesale level was quite pronounced last autumn, with hard-shell lobsters from Canada obtaining between USD 9.95 and USD 10.25 per pound, while US firm-shell lobsters were sold for between USD 7.50 and USD 7.75 per pound. Prices tend to peak in late winter and early spring, but decline notably in May. In late July prices for live hard-shell lobsters rise again as supplies are hard to find.  

While 2022 was not a great year for Canadian lobster exports, 2023 looks no better. Canadian exports of live and frozen lobster amounted to 63 956 tonnes during the first nine months of 2023, compared to 69 830 tonnes during the same period in 2022 (-8.4 percent).   

2022 was a poor year for US exports, too. US exports of live and frozen lobsters amounted to 22 980 during the first nine months of 2022. This was 11.4 percent less than the same period in 2021, and in 2023, exports dropped by a further 4 percent to 22 077 tonnes.