A waitress peels crayfish for customers. (Photo/Workers' Daily)

Chinese consumers’ appetite for crayfish has given a strong boost to the industry.

According to a report released by Meituan-Dianping, a provider of on-demand services, the Chinese consumed about 45,000 tons of crayfish through the platform in 2018, with more than 140,000 new crayfish restaurants compared to in 2017.

Last year, the crayfish industry generated over 100 billion yuan in economic value and offered more than 5 million job opportunities, including jobs as employees to peel the shells of crayfish for customers.

Huda Restaurant in Beijing rolled out the “shell-peeling” service, providing convenience for those who love eating crayfish but hate peeling the crustaceans, which is a notoriously messy business.

Guo Dong, general manager of the restaurant, said they accommodate about 20,000 diners every day for nearly 1,000 kilograms of crayfish during the peak season.

“Our service is widely accepted by the customers, and help increase sales of crayfish,” Guo added.

Huahua, one of the “shell-peeling” service providers at the restaurant, said some of her colleagues could earn about 10,000 yuan per month.

The booming crayfish market also inspired a vocational college to run a crayfish major. The course was established in Jianghan Art Vocational College in central China’s Hubei Province in 2017.

The first batch of graduates majoring in crayfish studies at the college all secured employment, with the highest salary exceeding 10,000 yuan per month.

Some people attributed the high employment rate to the fact that the major is highly market-oriented.