FFAW RAISES ALARM OVER CRAB PRICE DISCREPANCY
April 23, 2025
The first Urner Barry (UB) quote for 2025 production of Newfoundland snow crab clocked NL 5-8 oz sections $2.07 CAD below the quote for Gulf crab—a far cry from the usual price spread seen in years previous.
5-8oz crab sections from this province were quoted at $11.05 CAD, meanwhile snow crab in the Gulf of St. Lawrence came in at $13.12. Larger crab from NL is not yet quoted.
Between 2020-2024, the price spread of snow crab between N.L. and Gulf crab was generally 15-20 cents during the fishing season, with price discrepancies ranging from on par to 41 cents. This year, that gap has widened to the high-water mark of $2.07 we see today.
See below for price spread from 2020-2025:
| Year | During the fishery | At the first report |
| 2020 | 6-14 cents | 13 cents |
| 2021 | 6-13 cents | 12 cents |
| 2022 | 12-14 cents | on par |
| 2023 | 7 – 27 cents | 7 cents |
| 2024 | 41 – 77 cents | 41 cents |
| 2025 | $2.07 |
FFAW believes N.L. processors are engaging in anti-competitive behaviour compared to their counterparts across Atlantic Canada and appear to be undercutting the price of crab in what can only be seen as a move to force a price reconsideration after FFAW-Unifor’s latest victory in 2025’s snow crab pricing decision—a major win that saw yet another step towards a fair pricing structure for harvesters.
We are currently exploring all possible avenues to get to the bottom of what’s happening with N.L. crab in the U.S. market to address this unprecedented price gap. Updates to follow.