How the pandemic affected the price of Christmas food

Prawns could be a few dollars more expensive this year because fewer fishermen were at sea during the height of the pandemic.

Usually fishermen fill up freezers throughout the year to keep pace with demand over the Christmas period, but not as many prawns were caught in 2020, Mooloolaba Fish Market seafood manager Kristian Penny said.

“It put a lot of pressure on the market and it will push prices up,” he said.

The Sunshine Coast fish market, which was bracing for 300-metre-long lines on December 25, would sell 20 tonnes of prawns across Christmas and Boxing days.

He said Mooloolaba king prawns so big “you can put a saddle on them and ride them home” were selling for $39.90 a kilogram but would jump by about $10 if bought in capital cities.