China has long been a vital export market for the US lobster industry. The country is the world’s largest consumer and importer of the crustacean, which is eaten all year round and often gifted during holidays by Chinese families.
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But American fishers are now missing out on Chinese sales amid the trade war, and they may struggle to claw back their former position as China increasingly turns to suppliers in the Asia-Pacific region, according to industry insiders.
US lobster shipments to China temporarily ground to a halt earlier this year, after Beijing and Washington ramped up tariffs on each other’s goods to triple-digit levels in a string of tit-for-tat moves, said Alexander Schultz, founder of the Hong Kong-based seafood distributor Turnbury.
Trade has since resumed, with Chinese duties on US lobsters coming down to 25 per cent after the world’s two largest economies agreed a “trade truce” deal in May, according to Schultz. But American exporters remain at a disadvantage compared with their global competitors.
In Maine, which accounts for 90 per cent of the US lobster supply, fishers are turning to the domestic market amid ongoing trade uncertainties, but American buyers cannot fully replace international demand, according to Julian Klenda, CEO of the direct-to-consumer seafood company Maine Lobster Now.
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“Domestic sales provide a buffer for Maine’s fishers, but the scale and frequency of global demand, particularly from China, remain unmatched,” he said.
Schultz agreed that China remained a crucial market for US lobster producers. “China remains the dominant market and continues to absorb the majority of live lobster exports, even with the existing tariffs in place,” he said.