Louisiana crawfish prices go up half a dollar per pound just ahead of Easter weekend

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — With Easter only days away, there is some bad news for crawfish lovers in Louisiana. Crawfish prices have gone up across the state, according to Laney King, co-founder of The Crawfish App.

She said prices have increased 50 cents per pound. Consumers will now have to pay $6.99 per pound for boiled crawfish and an average of $4.75 per pound for live crawfish.

“If you're hoping to boil crawfish for your friends and family this Easter weekend, be prepared to spend around $150-$200 on a 35 lb. sack,” said King.

"Crawfish prices are almost double what they were last Easter," she said. At this time last year, live crawfish cost $2.59 per pound.

Drought and extreme heat during the most recent summer and fall played a part in the current high prices.

"Almost half of Louisiana's crawfish ponds were devastated, causing an unprecedented low supply of crawfish at the start of the season that has carried over into the heart of it," said King.

If you want to get your crawfish fix in over the Easter weekend, the co-founder of The Crawfish App suggests you hurry up and make your order.

"We're approaching the busiest weekend of the entire crawfish season and there aren't enough crawfish to go around this week. Many of our vendors on The Crawfish App are already sold out of live crawfish for this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so get your orders in ASAP," said King.  

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