Controversy continues to attach itself to the Chinese commercial presence in the region the latest brouhaha arising out of what Antiguan hoteliers and restaurateurs regard as trading practices designed to corner the local lobster market and place the high-priced delicacy beyond the reach of the local consumers.
Stabroek Business has monitored a report from the Antigua Observer website which expresses fears that what it describes as the “incursion by Chinese buyers into the local lobster market” is likely to result in a sharp spike in prices that will place the crustacean beyond the reach of local eating houses and may even deplete stocks in the future. More than that, fingers have been pointed at Chinese restaurateurs operating in Guyana whom, the article says, are “attempting to corner the lobster market by offering local fishermen increased purchase prices and other incentives for their catches.” Local fishermen, so the report says, are being pressed into service by the Guyana-based Chinese businessmen “to consistently fill two 40-ft containers with lobster for export to Guyana.”
The Chinese, according to a source quoted in the Observer report, are reportedly offering the local fishermen as much as fifty cents per pound more than they can expect to receive on
