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发帖数: 2001 | 1 (Bloomberg) -- The coronavirus outbreak is turning one luxury treat reserved
for special occasions into a meal bargain hunters can afford.
U.S. lobster prices have plummeted to the lowest in at least four years
after the spread of the virus halted charter flights to Asia at a time when
sales usually boom for Chinese New Year celebrations.
The fallout has left thousands of pounds of unsold lobster flooding North
American markets and squeezing U.S. businesses that were already hurting
from lost sales due to China’s tariffs from its trade war with Washington.
“This is like a fatal blow,” said Stephanie Nadeau, owner of Arundel,
Maine-based The Lobster Co., which saw orders to Hong Kong shrivel from
about 1,000 boxes a week to a total of 120 boxes -- each carrying 33 pounds
-- since late January. “I’m about to lay off most of my employees.”
The U.S. used to be the main supplier of live lobster to China as exporters
tapped into surging demand from the Asian nation’s growing middle class.
Buyers turned to relatively cheaper supply from Canada after Beijing placed
retaliatory tariffs on American crustaceans in 2018. |
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