why are prices of scallops soaring? Can't just be inflation.

Hey. Does anyone know why the price of scallops are soaring?

It used to be $16 lb pre-covid and then $25 and now $28-29 (almost double) for U-15 size scallops at Costco.

But the price of Ahi Tuna, salmon, and other seafood items are pretty much stable with little or not change.

So I don’t think it’s just inflation.

How do you define “inflation “?

Earlier last month,

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@JMat - I mean the price of scallops is so high that I think something special is causing it

@Rooster - I tried googling. There was so mention of a super harvest maybe for many years resulting from some events in 2012 and 2013. Now in 2022 the super harvest days are over so and closures are happening on some catching grounds. See https://www.nationalfisherman.com/northeast/northeast-scallops-prices-high-as-rotational-closures-reduce-supply-boost-production-costs

I’’ not sure what that means? Or if scallop prices will remain this high for the future (U-15 for $30 a lb - that’s too much).

It is usually called economics. Supply and demand…when supply is low and demand is high, prices go up……Are you in the business, if so, your suppliers may help you with fore casts.

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I noticed the difference in my local Wegmans as well on the per lb. price. Local-caught fresh sea scallops went from $21.99 / lb. to $30.99 back in January 2022. I only buy 5-6 of them at a time, and in January, it cost me $9.50, when they used to cost me $6.00 for 5 of them back in August 2021.

But either way, it’s still WAY less expensive then what you’d pay in a restaurant where you’re lucky to get 3 of them on a plate. Plus, I get to pick out the coral colored scallops at Wegmans, provided they have them.

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Frankly the rising cost of food, any food, is concerning to many of us. As a beef producer, I am wondering if I will be able to afford corn seed, diesel fuel and other items in order to make silage and hay this year to feed the cattle. I thought this was a valid question on a Cooking Discussion board. I guess this forum depends on who you are. You would think given your experience on CH you would be bit nicer to others, especially first time posters. :weary:

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I remember when Abalone was $8/lb… then 16, and now-a-days it is crazy. Same for AK crab, so it is no surprise Diver Scallops are any different. When you can’t fish for these with a net, prices will rise due to the labor it takes to harvest them.

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As a buyer for three machine shops, EVERYTHING has gone up in price whether the price increase was justified or not. While I am not familiar with the scallop market, maybe they decided to raise the price to see if anyone bites. I feel that many of the markets are raising prices just to see if people will accept it and get used to it. The scallop producers may be testing the water.

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Discussions of food inc!udes discussions of the cost of food – unless you’re so rich it doesn’t matter. And mentioning inflation, particularly to rule it out, is not politics.

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So interesting. I was wondering whether/where that’s the case, and where markets/industries are just finally being forced to be realistic about what they need to charge to stay afloat. Like everyone else, some things I will buy at higher prices, some things I won’t. I am happy to pay higher food prices where I think the producer is getting some part of the increase. Being in Maine, I have been wondering if higher gas prices would mean higher lobster prices (just out of bystander interest, I have an unfortunate shellfish allergy :frowning_face:).

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I can tell you that the regular beef producer is NOT getting the benefit of higher prices. Tyson and JBS are major market manipulators and spend a major amount of money to get government to look the other way when it comes to market manipulation and price gouging.

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This has nothing to do with politics. EVERYTHING is going up in prices, not just food. Furniture, cars, equipment used in countless industries, items for pets, electronics, appliances, clothing, etc. Food prices are a valid concern for a Food Board.

Guess what? I’m affected by inflation in my food purchases, and I’m well versed in world events. Humans tend to look to their locality as things affect them directly. But that doesn’t mean they’re blind to what is happening elsewhere around the world.

As I noted upthread, purchasing scallops in a supermarket still cost less than what you’d pay in a restaurant for fewer scallops on your plate.

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That is so depressing and equally unsurprising. I am fortunate here in Maine to buy all of my meat and many other things direct from its producer or at only one remove (like fish market that buys direct off the boat). So I know where most of my food dollars are going. But few are so lucky. I hope that prices cooperate for you with what you need to feed your cattle!

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Unfortunately many smaller producers like us have already gone out of business in the last two years. And those of us who are getting older are making hard decisions on how long we are going to stay in it cause the profit isn’t there. Another year of just trading money and not making any money with the producers strong arming the price is going to make our decision to get out much easier.

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Pork and chicken prices aren’t as bad as beef prices. It’s weird. The thing is, I don’t think we are low on the supply of cows. The newspapers used to say that processors like JBS had to close down owing to a lack of workers and covid. But it seems like the labor force is recovering and we have enough cows. But the price is still high for beef?

If the price of scallops was rising just like inflation, then it’s not super bad. But the price is rising a lot faster than inflation and the price of other seafood. I really hope that @ScottinPollock is right and that it’s a labor shortage (which can recover so prices might recover) and not because we don’t have that much scallops left in the sea (so the price is permanent which means $30 a lb and that sucks).

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I don’t track the prices of things very carefully, but I remember looking at some scallops about 4 months or more ago (Novemberish) and when seeing the price and said to self and anyone listening, “I don’t like scallops enough at that price, I might as well get the fresh Halibut or Halibut cheeks.” At the time Halibut had not increased much nor had their cheeks both of which previously had cost more than U8 sea scallops.

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Just talked to the husband and no there is not plenty of beef. The packers were backed up last year so there was plenty in the slaughter chain, but now there is less than a week’s worth of beef in the slaughter line, which is the reason why the packers are having to give the producers more $$$$ for their beef. On average 125,000 head are slaughtered daily. Both cattle and hog producers are leery of expanding their herd due to rising feed prices. It is a catch 22- producers can’t afford to increase herd to meet demand cause the inputs don’t equal the return- now THAT is economics. LOL Also in poultry, the increasing instance of avian flu is causing alarm and will likely lead to culling of poultry flocks.

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