MARKETING OF CULTURED PRAWNS, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, IN SOUTH CAROLINA1

Three marketing approaches were investigated for small-scale aquaculture of prawns: 1) seafood retail markets, 2) seafood restaurants, and 3) direct sales to consumers. A market test with locally produced pond-reared prawns was conducted in four seafood retail stores and seven seafood restaurants in South Carolina. Prawns, sold as ungraded tails at prices ranging from $8.79-11.01/kg, were highly saleable in the retail markets. All retailers indicated that they would add this aquafood to existing product lines and stated a preference for fresh prawns in the medium size category (78–110 tails/kg). Restaurants prepared the prawns as sauteed, steamed, broiled, stuffed, and microwave-oven cooked. The prices charged for the prawn dinners ranged from $5.95 to $12.00 per serving. Five of the seven seafood restaurants who participated in the marketing trials indicated that they would purchase prawns for their restaurant operation if a suitable supply were available. Depending on the entree, prawns might be marketed as tails or as whole animals in the seafood restaurant trade. Some prawn producers who participated in cooperative rearing trials during 1981 sold their crop directly to consumers as ungraded prawn tails at prices of $10.90 and $13.20/kg. This marketing approach greatly reduces the producer's costs for processing, packaging, storage, and transportation. In addition, direct consumer sales have fewer restrictions in regard to: size of the product; volume of orders; and packaging, as compared to purchases by seafood restaurants and retail markets. For the predicted near term production of prawns in South Carolina, this marketing approach appears most attractive.