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Crayfish hotter than World Cup for Chinese fans

Some 100,000 crayfish from Hubei province made their way to Russia to treat 40,000 Chinese football fans with a favorite snack. The little creatures might, in some sense, be the biggest Chinese representation for this World Cup.

Crayfish, beer and soccer has become a popular World Cup activity in China, and that has generated a unprecedented crayfish e-commerce industry booming before and during the tournament.

Major e-commerce and online food delivery platforms have reported skyrocketing crayfish sales. Eleme Waimai said late-night crayfish orders during the first week of the World Cup grew 41 percent and trade volume by 52% from May. The opening match between Russia and Saudi Arabia saw 1.53 million crayfish sold, while 3.5 million were bought in the clash between Spain and Portugal.

The traditional catering industry spent no time waiting to fend off the e-commerce bloom. Crayfish restaurants partnered with lotteries, soccer stars, cheerleaders and free treats. Data from Guijie, Beijing's famous food street, showed crayfish prices this year increased 30 to 60 percent

The crayfish industry is reported to have created five million jobs in 2017and major producing areas in central and eastern China received orders a year early for the World Cup.