December 21st,2016 — Compared with most lunch sandwiches, the lobster rolls Alex Robinson sells from the side of his blue Happy Lobster Truck in downtown Chicago were already pricey. So, he was worried customers would go elsewhere after he started charging $17 instead of $15 to cover higher costs.
Turns out, Americans still have a crush on the crustaceans, and many are more than willing to pay up. Even after the price increase this year, Robinson says he hasn’t lost any business. The 4 ounces (113.4 grams) of wild-caught Maine lobster that he drizzles with butter and a touch of mayonnaise on a bread roll remain his best-selling item.
“We haven’t had anyone who said it wasn’t worth it,” said Robinson, who owns the truck. “Prices are going up, and it’s still staying popular.”
Four years after a glut led to the cheapest lobsters since the 1980s, prices on average are up 37 percent this year and the highest on record going back decades. While U.S. and Canadian fisherman have caught more than ever in recent years, output hasn’t kept pace with demand. Exports to China surged, and American restaurants that got used to low-cost seafood have added lobster to spice up everything from soups and salads to macaroni and cheese.
“The market now is outstripping the supply,” said Bernie Berry, president of the Yarmouth, Nova Scotia-based Cold Water Lobster Association, which represents fisherman in Canada. “I don’t think we can catch enough lobsters.”
Canadian claw and knuckle meat — a common variety used in lobster rolls –averaged $28.31 per pound (454-gram) this month, up 7 percent from a year earlier and well above the 10-year December average of $17.85, according to Urner Barry, a Toms River, New Jersey-based researcher that has been tracking food prices since 1858. In July, the average reached $29.44, the most ever.