Louisiana Crawfish Prices – How High For Easter Weekend?

All across Louisiana the day is dawning brightly. It's going to be a beautiful day of sunny skies and springlike temperatures from Golden Meadow, Louisiana which is way down the bayou, to Bossier City in the state's northwestern corner. And for a lot of Louisiana families this "Good Friday" will be spent celebrating with a time-honored Louisiana tradition, a Good Friday Crawfish Boil.

The Good Friday Crawfish boil has it roots embedded deeply in Louisiana's mostly Catholic traditions. One person I spoke with called "Good Friday the Superbowl of Lent" which seems so very Louisiana and so very clear as to the importance of the day to the people in our state.

Actually, the bigger question concerning crawfish has been less about "Are we going to have a crawfish boil" on Good Friday and more about "Will there be crawfish to boil on Good Friday and do we need to win the Powerball to afford them"?

Are There Enough Crawfish To Go Around?

The better answer to this question might be whether is there enough money for regular people to afford the crawfish that are available. So, yes, the supply has been improving as the season has moved forward. The crop of crawfish was delayed by about three to six weeks depending on where you are in the state, but for the most part, the crawfish joints across the great Cajun Prairie are open and functioning at full capacity.

What Are People Paying For Live Crawfish in Louisiana?

After a few weeks of downward trending prices, we did see a bit of a bump just ahead of the Good Friday/Easter Weekend. The Louisiana Radio Network is reporting that on average prices jumped by .50 cents across the state this week. Crawfish App is reporting that mudbugs can be bought for $4.75 a pound. That's live crawfish, so you're looking at paying $150 to $200 bucks for a sack.

What Are People Paying for Boiled Crawfish in Louisiana?

In the Lafayette area, KADN Television and anchor Jim Hummel say via the station's S&Peel 1500 crawfish index that the average price per pound for boiled in and around Lafayette is $7.13. That price did reflect a jump of about 3%. Jim has a lot of detailed information on Acadiana area crawfish places and prices, you can check out his complete list here. 

KATC Televisions Crawdaq Index of crawfish prices around the area and the state suggested similar findings to what the S&Peel 1500 suggested. Calyn Lamannao in her Crawdaq report found that the average price for boiled crawfish at places she surveyed was $7.53 a pound. That figure reflected a 2% increase in prices from one week ago.

The KATC Crawdaq report suggested that prices for crawfish were a bit higher in Iberia Parish as compared to Lafayette. Iberia prices were about $8.70 a pound according to the KATC report. 

KPLC TV in Lake Charles also has a crawfish price report for the southwestern corner of the state. You can take a look at the prices and selection at some of your favorite mudbug places in LC and the surrounding area, right here. 

Will Easter Wrap Up the Crawfish Season Since it Started Later?

You'd have to ask the producers who farm and harvest crawfish about that. Many crawfish ponds also support the rice crop in South Louisiana and the growing season for that crop is upon us. So, I am sure that would be on a producer-by-producer basis. Of course, retailers and restaurants will continue to offer crawfish as long as there is a supply to offer.

Our advice, if you want some crawfish, I'd get them this weekend because the future is just too unpredictable, kind of like that alleged, federal aid for crawfish farmers, let's hope the Department of Agriculture can figure out a way to cut the red tape so our farm families can survive through the summer and into the next crawfish season.