Question & Answer: What determines the price of crawfish?

The easy answer is the market determines the price. Because of the perishability of crawfish and their very limited shelf life, the controlling factor is supply and demand. That being said, consider this example: suppose two very large wholesalers, Company A and Company B, deliver a large amount of crawfish to market. If Company A drops their price by 25 cents per pound, Company B will probably also drop their price in order not to lose a large amount of sales. We’re often asked about the price of crawfish on Good Friday, which typically marks the busiest single week of the season. The supply of crawfish is typically very steady throughout the season, as well as during that week, but so many more people than normal consume crawfish on Easter Weekend it usually causes the price to spike.