How profitable is caviar farming?

If everything goes as planned, in about nine years its eggs will be harvested for caviar, which in today’s market can sell for up to $35,000 per kilogram. We visited one of the largest beluga farms in the world to find out how this expensive delicacy gets from farm to spoon.

Is caviar a good business?

California caviar is a booming business, with the state’s sturgeon farmers profiting from the downfall of Caspian Sea caviar. It takes eight to 12 years for them to mature to the point where the caviar can be extracted.

Is selling caviar illegal?

In the wild, anglers are allowed to keep whatever caviar they find but are forbidden to sell it. “Caviar is highly sought after in legal and illegal markets, and significant effort has been put into these types of investigations across the world to protect caviar-bearing sturgeon species,” the criminal complaint reads.

How much can you sell caviar for?

So, how expensive is caviar? One kilogram or 2.3 pounds of this Sturgeon delicacy would be sold to you for almost $35,000 (or £20,000). Nonetheless, it’s not the most expensive caviar on our planet. For many years, owners of fish farms competed for the title of the producers of the best caviar.

Can you farm your own caviar?

Farming caviar is a painstaking process that takes years. Marshallberg and LaPaz don’t yet breed their own stock; they fly eggs from Germany, hatch them on the coast, then truck, say, a thousand tiny sturgeon at a time to the Happy Valley facility.

Is caviar banned in the US?

Legality. In 2005, the United States made it illegal to import beluga caviar and beluga sturgeon into the country, because of the animal’s endangered status. Many other countries allow for the import and export of beluga sturgeon caviar, as the fish has started making a comeback in recent years.

What is the most expensive caviar in the world?

Almas
The Guinness World Book of Records states the most expensive caviar in the world is Almas from rare Iranian Albino Beluga sturgeons. “Almas” means diamond in Russian and with white pearls and a price tag of $34,500 for 1kg, you can see how it gets its name.

Why is caviar so costly?

Beluga caviar is the most expensive variant and its price range goes even higher. While females sturgeons are bred in large quantities, you might be wondering why is caviar so expensive then? It is because a female fish takes around 10-15 years until she starts producing eggs.

Does Wholefoods sell caviar?

That’s right — caviar. Once you’ve learned the basics, visit your Whole Foods Market store to browse our wide selection of caviar.