Group buying a lifeline for crayfish farmers
Crayfish farmers in Qingpu District sold their first bucket of crayfish in May via online group buying.
For crayfish lovers, summer is the best time of year as the delicacy crawls into local markets.
This should be peak season for a local crayfish farmer surnamed Li and her family, but the COVID-19 resurgence has wreaked havoc on sales from her 100-mu (6.7 hectares) crayfish pond.
This year's crayfish catch hit markets early this month, but wholesalers have been locked out so farmers had to search for different ways to sell their cash crop.
If crayfish isn't sold in time, ponds become overcrowded. Moreover, rising temperatures affect crayfish quality and can be lethal.
Li and her husband, from Hubei Province, are skilled aquaculture farmers. They use their own soybean-laden formula feed, and this year's weather has been perfect for producing crayfish with plentiful, tender meat. Their pond should produce 250-300 kilograms of crayfish per mu.
A farmer checks the status of fresh crayfish.
