Import ban drives up prices of Australian prawn cutlets ahead of Easter long weekend

EASTER shoppers face paying up to $75 a kilogram for Australian prawn cutlets, as an import ban drives up prices.

• Events and opening hours in Melbourne for 2017 Easter weekend

PEELED raw prawns prices have leaped as shortages bite.

Easter shoppers faced paying up to $75 a kilogram for Australian prawn cutlets, as an import ban drove up prices.

The federal government suspended uncooked prawn imports in January, as authorities sought to identify the source of an outbreak of white spot disease that was detected on southeast Queensland prawn farms late last year.

The disease is not harmful to humans, but it is able to devastate the industry.

Industry veterans said the supply since had been scarcer, and therefore pricier.

Fishmongers said wholesale costs for peeled raw prawns had soared since Christmas, triggering retail price hikes of as much as $20 a kilo.

But the availability of whole raw prawns was still reliable.

At Camberwell Fresh Food Market’s Kingfisher Seafood yesterday, extra large Queensland king prawn cutlets cost $74.90/kg — a price about 20 per cent higher than was being charged at Christmas.

Antoinette comes to terms with a lobster at Aptus Seafood in Sth Melb Market. Picture: Stuart Walmsley

And Canals Seafood in North Carlton said peeled prawns cost $55-$70/kg, depending on prawn and pack size, compared with $39.95/kg for whole prawns.

At Dandenong Market’s Hellenic Seafood, large wild tiger and king prawn cutlets were selling for $48.90/kg, up by $20/kg from six weeks ago.

“As long as I’ve been in the game, it’s never been that high,” manager Peter Ganoitis said. “You have to explain it to the customer ... we are not robbing them.

“We can’t even get hold of farmed ones,” he said.

Angelo Zahos, owner of Aptus Seafood at South Melbourne Market, was yesterday offering extra large Queensland tiger prawn cutlets for $59.90/kg. Banana prawn cutlets fetched $49.90/kg.

However, thanks to plentiful catches, lovers of seafood who hunger for lobster, tuna, flathead, rockling and blue grenadier can hook better value from some retail outlets than they could at the same time last year.

Mr Zahos said that thanks to a slowing export market, lobsters were now a bargain when compared with last Easter, having tumbled in price from $120/kg to $79.90/kg.

And yellowfin tuna was $39.90/kg, down from about $69.90/kg last year.

Shoppers were also paying $6-$10 a kilogram less for flathead, rockling, and blue grenadier fillets.

@KarenCollierHS