Crab prices in the United States have been declining in recent months, due to a combination of factors including increased supply, decreased demand, and rising inflation. As of July 2023, snow crab prices are down by about 60% from their peak in January 2022.

US exports of crab have also been declining in recent years, due to a number of factors including the ongoing trade war with China and the loss of access to the Russian market. In 2022, US exports of crab were down by about 31% from 2021.

The imports of crab have been increasing in recent years, as demand for crab in the US has outpaced domestic production. In 2022, for example, US imports of crab were up by about 7% from 2021.

Here are some of the specific developments that have been driving the recent trends in the US crab market:

• The total allowable catch (TAC) for snow crab in Canada has been increasing in recent years, leading to increased supply of snow crab in the US market.
• Demand for crab in the US has been declining in recent years, due to factors including the rising cost of living and the increasing popularity of other seafood options.

The continued growth of the Chinese market, the outcome of the trade war with China, and the availability of crab from other countries are the key factors that will continue to influence the US crab market.

The US snow crab price drop in 2023  first trended in February when the retail price plummeted from $19 per pound in 2022, to $7.50 at the start of 2023.  This denoted a fall in the asking price by 60%. Given that the retailers have been buying their crabs from fishermen and wholesalers at a slice of their selling price for several months now, one can expect this cheap seafood fare to continue for a while longer. 

Frozen crabs are selling more than fresh crabs in the US, if the 41.9% hike in the sales of preserved crabs in May, 2023 is anything to go by. Over the same month, sales of fresh crab shot up by about 15 percent compared to the sales of a similar period last year.  For comprehensive nutrition analysis, please check the breakdown of the nutritional value that crabs offer.