A “once-in-10-years” catch has led to plummeting seafood prices at Australia’s major supermarkets just in time for a classic Aussie Christmas. Woolworths and Coles announced the oversupply of fresh prawns earlier this month, saying it will mean lower prices at the checkout.

“It wouldn’t be an Aussie Christmas without seafood. Our team has been working closely with our dedicated suppliers for the last 12 months to ensure Woolworths customers can enjoy quality seafood at great value as part of their festive spread,” Tim Dudding, Woolworths’ commercial director for seafood, said.

Prices are largely on par or lower than they were at Christmas last year, both supermarkets said, but there are a few items that can bring in serious savings.

Related story: Don’t skimp on shrimp! Prawns expected to be well-priced this Christmas 

Particularly enticing is the price of raw banana prawns — $14 a kilo at both Coles and Woolies, significantly down from $22 a kilo last year. 

Western rock lobsters are also impressively cheap at $23 at Woolworths, not far off the unprecedentedly low prices seen during an oversupply in 2020. A frozen two-pack at Aldi, weighing about 380g, is $34.99.

Other notable offers include Coles’ Australian cooked fresh black tiger prawns, down from $38 to $30 a kilo until December 27 (excluding WA), Woolworths’ jumbo prawn skewers at $10 for 240g, down from $13, and Woolworths’ premium smoked salmon at $25 for 500g, down from $29.

Aldi, Coles and Woolworths all began slashing prices as early as October in a bid to win over cost-conscious shoppers — including by revealing three-course menus to feed a family of eight for $100 or less. About 150 items had their prices slashed at Woolies, including roast pork loin (down from $14 per kilo to $12), pavlova bases (down from $9.20 to $6) and four-pack of Bundaberg Sparkling ($7.45 down to $5.15).

It’s a welcome relief for shoppers, who have shouldered massive grocery price hikes this year as inflation grew by 5.6 per cent.

Bread and cereal prices are up 8.9 per cent and dairy products have climbed 8 per cent. Australian budgets have been further tightened by skyrocketing petrol prices (up 19.7 per cent), electricity bills (up 18 per cent) and rents (7.6 per cent).

Need some fin-spiration for Christmas? Reel in a crowd with this all-seafood Christmas menu plan. 

This story originally appeared on news.com.au. It has been reproduced here with permission.

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