Vietnamese lobsters claw back to prominence in China after temporary dip

Vietnamese lobster imports totalled US$205.87 million from January to September, a 3,285 per cent increase over the first nine months of last year and 37 per cent of all shipments, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.

In September, China’s lobster imports from Vietnam increased 133.9 per cent compared to the previous month- and 2,336 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

Overall lobster imports increased by 40.86 per cent year on year, reaching US$558.24 million over the same time frame, while import prices decreased by 23 per cent.

“Consumption may be weakening, but there’s a portion of consumers who are wealthy and unaffected,” said Zhao Xijun, a professor of finance at Renmin University in Beijing.