The first shipments of live rock lobsters will touch down in Shanghai this weekend, in time for the run-up to the country’s Labour Day festival on May 1-5.
Lobster Exporters of New Zealand chairman Andrew Harvey said although the industry had been buoyed by strong early interest from importers, the level of consumer demand in China as it emerged from Covid-19 lockdown was yet to be tested.
"This is usually one of the strongest periods of the year, but it’s unclear how fragile that demand is at this stage.
"But if the lift we’ve seen this week persists, the industry as a whole should come through [the recent crisis] OK."
A looming issue was limited shipping options, he said.
"At present, we can only ship from Auckland, and domestic flights are scarce. So if demand increases, that could be a potential bottleneck we need to overcome."
The Te Anau-based Fiordland Lobster Company, which accounts for about 40% of the industry’s exports to China, was among those resuming shipments this week.
Chief executive Alan Buckner said he was delighted for staff and fishermen, and optimistic about the early signs for the industry.
"We chose to remain closed to support the lockdown and protect our staff, but we’ve reopened now to target Labour Day celebrations in China.
"We’re encouraged by the level of interest we’ve experienced this week. Having been one of the first industries hit by Covid-19 on January 24, it looks like we might be one of the first to come out."
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The message was sent out this week to encourage kiwi's to buy local produce and yet crayfish being shipped to China is considered to be a good thing.. leaving us to pay that rediculous price per kg?... where is the fair trade in that?