Some Good News for a Change Regarding Crawfish

By Don Molino

Voice of Louisiana Agriculture Radio Network

After a less than stellar start to this crawfish season, some good news is starting to come in. Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Mike Strain says supplies are apparently starting to increase while the price is starting to come down. At the wholesale level last week, prices were ranging to $6 to $16 a pound for boiled crawfish. Strain reports as of Monday, wholesale prices—overall—had fallen a full 20% or about a dollar a pound.

The drought and extremely hot weather last year played havoc on not only the crawfish supplies but also most other crops as well. One south Louisiana rice and crawfish farmer said he is usually picked 80 to 100 sacks per day by this time of year, but so far, he’s only harvested THREE crawfish. Not three sacks, only 3 mudbugs.

The rain Louisiana has been receiving the past few days can only help increase the number of crawfish and continue to bring down prices paid by consumers.