The price of Dungeness crab has doubled

VANCOUVER – If you are a big fan of Dungeness crab you are about to pay a lot more for it.

It seems a poor commercial catch and high Asian demand are driving up the price.

The cost for the crab has doubled from about the same time last year and lobster is now cheaper than crab.

At Granville Island Market the cost of crab is about $20.90 a pound, with lobster going for $19.90 a pound.

Some retailers are even ‘eating’ up some of the cost to sell the crab and are not charging full market price.

“The sales have been pretty bad,” says Ray Ogura from Seafood City. “For sure, maybe about 25 per cent of sales versus what we normally do. I can’t really blame people because times are tough.”

“If it was a full markup it would be about $22 a pound.”

It is unclear how long these prices will continue.