China’s big spenders splash out on hairy crab and other delicacies as a reward during tough pandemic year

Travel bans and quarantine rules have forced high-earning Chinese to spend their wealth closer to home this year

Farmers are live-streaming from their facilities to allay customers’ concerns about seafood safety

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Freshly cooked hairy crabs are served up for a tasting at the Shengmiao Eco Farm on the outskirts of Shanghai last month. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 12:59pm, 3 Nov 2020Updated: 8:55pm, 3 Nov 2020

Late in the afternoon on a recent weekday, workers at an aquaculture farm near Shanghai used long pincers to move 300-gram crabs from muddy ponds into small pools of fresh water.

By morning, the crabs – their shells cleansed of dirt – are packed into gift boxes and shipped to customers all over China.

These are no ordinary crustaceans: they’re hairy crabs, a delicacy that can cost as much as 2,700 yuan (US$400) for a box of eight and can only be bought for a few weeks in autumn. Prices for some of the most popular crabs have doubled compared to a year ago.

Even as China’s economy suffers from the Covid-19 outbreak, the pandemic has been good for farm owner Ma Mingjun’s business. In normal years, many Chinese give hairy crabs as gifts to special relatives, important customers or government officials but now big-spending consumers who haven’t been able to shop in Paris or Milan are treating themselves to more home-grown luxuries.

“Almost all the hairy crabs in our pools have been reserved, much faster than last year,” Ma said. “To offset the frustration of travel restrictions, many customers are buying bigger crabs to share with their families.”

Demand for hairy crabs in China was about 120 billion yuan last year and is expected to reach 150 billion yuan this year, according to consultancy AskCI Consulting. The bestseller this year costs 1,600 yuan per box, up from 800 yuan in 2019.

Chinese consumers usually steam the tiny crustaceans for about 15 minutes before serving them with vinegar, minced ginger and rice wine. Diners first pull off the legs, poking into them with chopsticks to dig out the meat. Usually the next step is to take off the shell and access the roe, although some connoisseurs can consume the meat and roe while keeping the shell intact.