Crawfish farmers throwing punches
Derek Albert
The Louisiana Crawfish Farmers’ Association (LCFA) have acted against alleged price fixing in the industry by simply using the simple supply-and-demand principle.
Last Monday, LCFA board members met with crawfish buyers on the west side of the state. LCFA Director Steve Menvielle said the buyers believed the supply of crawfish on the market was too excessive. Both sides agreed that suspending sales of crawfish for one or two days a week could ameliorate the low prices the farmers have been receiving.
“They said we were flooding the market with too much production, too fast, Menvielle said. “So they asked us to take at least one day, but maybe two days, off per week.
“We said let’s make it Sunday for sure. That’ll clear out all of the crawfish on the weekend. We urged our membership to please pick another day and just don’t do it.”
So far, the plan seems to be working. Menvielle explained that the stifled sales may have had some effect already.
“All of a sudden, this weekend, the restaurants ran out. The resellers ran out. Our phones rang off the hook,” Menvielle said. “So now we’re all back in full blown production today, bringing it back to the crawfish producing public.”
Menvielle said Mike Bienvenue, president of the Louisiana Crawfish Producers Association-West, offered a lot of positive feedback for the crawfishermen in attendance.
One concern that Menvielle said crawfish farmers from the western part of the state have is the production of wild crawfish from the Atchafalaya Basin. Menvielle and Bienvenu agree that there is not enough crawfish harvested from the Basin to affect the market.
They have been pinning the farmers against the basin,” Menvielle said. “In our marketplace, in the way we do business, how we harvest, we are exactly the same. We are brothers in this.
The farmers will continue with the plan to stifle sales in hope of further compromise. Menvielle said future negotiations will be welcomed.
“We don’t want to ruin the industry. That is not our intention in any way,” Menvielle contended. “The middle men always have the same margin, from the day it starts at the highest price to the very lowest price. They keep beating the production price whenever there is a price problem.”
State Attorney General James “Buddy” Caldwell has yet to reply on information that Menvielle says proves illegal price fixing is occurring in the crawfish market.
“This is totally against every business plan ever construed successfully in the continental United States,” Menvielle said strongly. “We’re fed up with it. I think the basin guys are fed up with it from what we understand. We’re gonna act together as a group.”