A worker at a crab farm in Shanghai displays a hairy crab on Aug 30. [Provided to China Daily]

 

SHANGHAI - During the Mid-Autumn Festival, hairy crab, or the Chinese mitten crab, is probably the most sought-after delicacy among Chinese people, especially in the Yangtze River Delta. A dish of steamed hairy crabs is always the highlight of the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion dinner.

However, the best variety of hairy crabs, from Yangcheng Lake in East China's Jiangsu province, will be absent from dinner tables this year.

The Yangcheng Lake Crab Association in Suzhou has announced that this year's crab fishing season will start on Sept 17, five days after the Mid-Autumn Festival.

"The crabs will fully mature after Sept 17 and the Mid-Autumn Festival this year is earlier than usual," Yang Weilong, director of the association, told China Daily.

Yang added that some crab fishers may catch a small number of hairy crabs before Sept 17 to cash in on the Mid-Autumn Festival, however, these crabs will not be entitled to be called Yangcheng Lake Crabs.

Although the association refused to predict this year's crab price, local fishermen have estimated that it will rise.

"Usually the price of hairy crabs in Yangcheng Lake increases between 10 and 20 percent each year. This year will not be an exception, as the cost of labor and feed including fish, pumpkins and corn is increasing," said Zhu Huilong, owner of a local crab farm covering more than 50,000 square meters.

Hairy crabs are usually sold in a pair, one male and one female. According to Zhu, a 125-gram female and a 175-gram male were priced at 80 yuan ($12.5) in 2010. One of the most expensive pairs - a 175-g female and a 250-g male - was priced at 200 yuan. The price reached a peak of more than 250 yuan in December last year.

"But the price increase doesn't affect the sales volume. Each year we sell several tons of hairy crabs," he said. "And the good news is that this year's crabs are bigger and are of better quality than last year's."

Yang from the Yangcheng Lake Crab Association explained that the drought in Jiangsu province in the first half of this year lowered the water level of Yangcheng Lake from 2 meters to 1.5 meters, which allowed more sunshine into the water, thus creating a better environment for the hairy crabs to grow in.

"I will buy hairy crabs this year despite the price hike. After all, it's the only season that we can taste the delicacy," said Qiu Zuxiang, a 58-year-old housewife, who buys hairy crabs for her family every year.

Qiu usually buys them four or five times a year. Each time, every family member can have a pair of hairy crabs.

"If I find the price is too expensive, I'll definitely buy fewer," she said.

China Daily

Delicious crabs are an essential delicacy at the dining table of Chinese people during the Mid-Autumn Festival. [Provided to China Daily]