In Beijing’s bustling Sanyuanli market, a few Australian rock lobsters swim in tanks as vendors make a last-ditch effort to sell the crustaceans that are fast disappearing from Chinese menus.
“We are selling our remaining stock and if you don’t buy them now, you won’t get your hands on them any time soon,” said one stallholder, adding he also had frozen lobsters but the live ones were most prized, especially for celebratory banquets.
Another trader at the market, which is renowned for its imported seafood, said she was getting mixed signals about the supply of live Australian rock lobsters from her local importer.
“It’s not clear if we are able to get them in the coming weeks … there is no guarantee,” she said. Read more…..
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Australia has stopped sending rock lobsters to its biggest market, China, after Beijing delayed some Australian imports of live seafood at customs. There are growing concerns that the live seafood trade is the latest sector to be targeted amid rising tensions between Australia and China. Beijing has already imposed tariffs on Australian barley and banned some beef imports.
