Emart Urgently Imports Norwegian King Crab Amid Soaring Prices of Russian King Crab

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] During the peak demand season for king crabs, Norwegian king crabs fill the gap left by Russian king crabs.

Emart announced on the 16th that it will sell 5 tons of live Norwegian red king crabs at a 20% discount until the 22nd. This price is about 10-20% cheaper compared to Russian red king crabs sold in January last year.

Emart had previously only operated live king crabs from Russia, and Norwegian king crabs were only available in small quantities at certain stores during specific periods. This year is the first time that live Norwegian king crabs have replaced Russian ones and are being promoted across all stores.

The reason Emart sourced live Norwegian red king crabs is that demand for king crabs from December to January is at its highest all year, but the supply of Russian red king crabs has sharply decreased, making it impossible to meet demand. Emart’s sales of snow crabs and king crabs in December and January last year were on average about 50% higher than in November, the previous month.

The Russian red king crab fishing season is set from September to December, so after the season ends, the supply in the market sharply decreases at the beginning of each year, causing prices to rise. Emart identified that unlike Russia, Norwegian small vessels continue fishing in January, and thus decisively switched to Norwegian king crabs. Norwegian king crabs are also about 10% cheaper in wholesale prices in January compared to Russian ones.

Kim Sangmin, Emart’s seafood buyer, said, “January is a period when demand for king crabs is high but prices are elevated because Russian red king crab fishing has ended. This year, we planned this event so customers can enjoy live Norwegian red king crabs, full of meat, at an affordable price even during the Lunar New Year holiday.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.