Retailers Expect Normal Oyster Sales, Despite Price Hikes

ROSEANNE HARPER

NEW ORLEANS — Retailers in the Louisiana Gulf region said they're counting on diehard oyster lovers to swallow price increases of as much as 30% during the season when oysters are sought after by cooks who consider them essential for holiday dishes.

Retailers said they expected to sell just as many Gulf oysters this year as they normally do in spite of the price hikes.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the oyster beds on the Louisiana and Texas coasts, cutting deeply into the supply just before the peak harvesting season last year. In the hardest hit areas, the oyster mortality rate was 70%, and the effects are still being felt, industry sources told SN.

Locally revered Louisiana oysters were literally smothered by silt and debris as tidal surges swept over them during the storms. Others were blown out of their reef beds by the winds.

“People [miles inland] found oysters in their swimming pools,” said Mike Voisin, chairman of the Louisiana Oyster Task Force and a board member of the Gulf Oyster Industry Council.

Wholesale prices were up 25% to 30% last year. This year, they're up another 10% to 15% over 2005, Voisin said.

Retailers are passing on the increases, which bring shucked oysters to at least $8.50 a pound at the store, sources said. Nevertheless, normal sales volume was expected for Thanksgiving week, when local demand peaks.

“We're selling as many as we usually do. It's gumbo season and down here in Cajun country, people want oysters for their gumbo,” said Bobby Russo, owner of Robie's Food Center, Abbeville, La.

“Oysters are definitely a holiday item, starting with Thanksgiving. A lot of people use them in turkey stuffing, but if I were to make an unscientific guess, I'd say primarily they're used in gumbo in this region of the country.”

His two stores, in the southwestern part of the state, are more than 100 miles west of New Orleans.

Russo said a cold front that came in a couple of weeks ago had already revved up gumbo cooking, a big thing for family gatherings this time of year and through New Year's.

No matter the price, Russo and others said they're just glad there are enough Gulf oysters to go around.

Oyster season begins in October and the season for cooking gumbo soon follows.

“As soon as there is a slight drop in temperature, gumbo rules the dining table in Louisiana and a lot of cooks like oysters in their gumbo,” said Michael Bove, vice president of perishables procurement for Associated Grocers of Baton Rouge, which supplies Robie's Food Center.

Meanwhile, Donald Rouse, co-owner of Rouses Supermarkets, Thibodeaux, La., which is also supplied by Associated Grocers, said his customers will buy Gulf oysters despite the high prices. Traditional home cooks feel they must have them for turkey stuffing, rice dressing and gumbo, Rouse said.

Sales met the company's expectations last year when the retails were already high, he said.

This year, Rouse had to make a concession. His company has always prided itself on carrying only Louisiana oysters, but this season, some are from the Texas coast.

There has been no price resistance, Rouse said, adding his retail, like that of other area retailers, is about 30% above a normal year.

“Oysters from the Gulf are so popular for the holidays that people don't rebel at the price,” he said.

While there has been some general concern about availability for the holidays, Associated Grocers expects to keep up with demand.

“The overall supply [of Gulf oysters] is soft this year, but we've been working with the same supplier for 20 years,” Bove said. “Long-term partnerships like that help when supplies tighten.”