HDR1012000170010120951500Catfish HDR2012000170010120951500Catfish Processing Narrative Released January 20, 1995, by the Agricultural Statistics Board. Estimates refer to December 1993 and 1994. Catfish Processing Down 1 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during December totaled 34.3 million pounds round weight, down 1 percent from December 1993. The January through December 1994 cumulative total round weight processed, at 439 million pounds, was down 4 percent from the same period the previous year. The average price paid to producers was 77 cents per pound for December 1994, 4 cents above a year ago but unchanged from the previous two months. Net pounds of processed fish sold during December totaled 15.5 million pounds, a decrease of 11 percent from the comparable month in 1993. Sales of fresh fish, at 6.32 million pounds, were down 11 percent from December 1993 and represented 41 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 9.14 million pounds, were down 10 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 59 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 26 percent of the total, fillets accounted for 52 percent, and the remaining 22 percent were mostly, steaks, nuggets, and value added products. The December 1994 average price received by processors for all sales, both fresh and frozen, was $2.37 per pound, an increase of 16 cents per pound over a year ago. Total fresh fish averaged $2.21 per pound, up 14 cents from December 1993. Prices for fresh whole fish and fillets increased 13 and 25 cents per pound, respectively, while other fresh fish fell 13 cents from a year ago. Total frozen fish averaged $2.48 per pound compared with $2.31 per pound in December 1993. Prices for frozen whole fish, fillets, and other increased 20, 21, and 13 cents per pound, respectively, from December a year ago. Freshwater catfish imports during October 1994 totaled 200 thousand pounds, down sharply from October 1993. All October imports were from Brazil. Exports for October 1994 totaled 12.0 thousand pounds, all of which went to Mexico. Imports for November 1994 were 491 thousand pounds, down 37 percent from last year. Brazil accounted for all imports during November 1994. Exports for November were 19.4 thousand pounds, and were virtually the same as November last year. Germany made up 64 percent of the exports for November, while the remaining 36 percent were to Japan. Import and export data were compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Census. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For information call James E. Brewster at (202) 720-3244. Office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. Aq 1 (1-95) HDR2012000170010120951500Farm-Raised Catfish Farm-Raised Catfish: Quantity Processed and Prices Paid to Producers by Major Processors, and United States Imports, 1993-94 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Round Weight Processed : Average Price : Imports :------------------------------------: Paid to : of Month : Monthly : Cumulative : Producers 1/ : Catfish 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1993 : 1994 : 1993 : 1994 : 1993 : 1994 : 1993 : 1994 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ---------- 1,000 Pounds --------- Dollars per Pound (000) Pounds : Jan : 40,327 36,714 40,327 36,714 .63 .74 118 535 Feb : 40,277 35,035 80,604 71,749 .67 .77 183 102 Mar : 43,521 40,446 124,125 112,195 .70 .79 127 163 Apr : 39,920 34,494 164,045 146,689 .71 .80 328 57 May : 37,030 34,163 201,075 180,852 .72 .80 204 459 Jun : 35,496 34,595 236,571 215,447 .72 .80 253 362 Jul : 37,086 35,901 273,657 251,348 .72 .80 277 261 Aug : 37,706 39,813 311,363 291,161 .73 .80 444 342 Sep : 37,072 38,716 348,435 329,877 .73 .80 426 322 Oct : 39,472 39,072 387,907 368,949 .73 .77 596 200 Nov : 36,557 36,004 424,464 404,953 .73 .77 781 491 Dec : 34,549 34,266 459,013 439,219 .73 .77 373 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Price of fish delivered to the processing plant door. Price includes charges for any services provided by the processing plant, such as seining and hauling, but does not include any adjustments based on year-end settlements. 2/ Data furnished by U.S. Bureau of Census. HDR2012000170010120951500Catfish Processors Catfish Processors: Sales Volume, Average Price, and Ending Inventory, United States, December 1993-94 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Sales : Average : Ending : Volume : Price : Inventory Item :------------------------------------------------------- : 1993 : 1994 : 1993 : 1994 : 1993 : 1994 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 Pounds Dollars Per Pound 1,000 Pounds Fresh : Whole Fish : Round & Gutted Only : 882 597 1.04 1.09 1/ 1/ Whole Dressed : 2,395 2,265 1.68 1.79 1/ 1/ Total : 3,277 2,862 1.53 1.66 287 184 : Other : Steaks : 115 94 1.84 2.10 1/ 1/ Nuggets : NA 532 NA 1.37 NA 54 Other 2/ : 688 164 2.02 3.36 1/ 1/ Total : 803 790 2.00 1.87 99 105 : Fillets 3/ : 3,050 2,665 2.66 2.91 342 722 : Total Fresh : 7,130 6,317 2.07 2.21 728 1,011 : Frozen : Whole Fish : Round & Gutted Only : Whole Dressed : 1,335 1,169 1.81 2.01 1,208 1,416 Total : 1,335 1,169 1.81 2.01 1,208 1,416 : Other : Steaks : 133 178 1.70 1.77 128 252 Nuggets : NA 1,111 NA 1.24 NA 1,223 Other 2/ : 2,643 1,375 1.82 2.54 2,349 1,746 Total : 2,776 2,664 1.82 1.95 2,477 3,221 : Fillets 3/ : 6,101 5,311 2.64 2.85 5,089 5,975 : Total Frozen : 10,212 9,144 2.31 2.48 8,774 10,612 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 17,342 15,461 2.21 2.37 9,502 11,623 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NA = Not available. 1/ Not published to avoid disclosure of individual operations. 2/ Includes all products not already reported, including weight of breading and added ingredients. Includes nuggets for 1993. 3/ Includes regular, shank, and strip fillets; excludes any breaded product. HDR2012000170010120951500Catfish Processing Estimates Catfish Processing Estimates Survey Procedures: Survey data for catfish processing are collected from approximately 30 processors. All participating processors must meet the minimum criteria of having a capacity to process at least 2,000 pounds live weight of catfish per 8-hour shift. The survey is conducted entirely by NASS Headquarter's staff in Washington, D.C. NASS field offices, however, are responsible for keeping Headquarters informed of any new processing operations in their State to ensure that the survey coverage is as complete as possible. Processors are contacted either by mail or telephone. Diligent effort is made to ensure that all operations are accounted for in the estimate. Estimation Procedures: The "Catfish Processing" report refers strictly to farm-raised fish and excludes wild capture fish. Prior to summarization, questionnaires are compared with the previous month's reports for comparable placement of data, reasonable price levels, and reasonable inventory carryover given the sales and processing totals reported. Estimates are made for those processors whose reports are not available in time to be included in the release. These plants are identified by an asterisk on page 5 of this release. Estimates are normally based on the processor's previous report and current conditions. Published totals are a straight summation of the individual reports and estimated data. Price items are weighted by the associated volumes to compute weighted average prices. The published price for total whole fish, however, reflects an adjustment to the round and gutted only price to bring it to an equivalent dressed weight price. If a plant uses a fiscal accounting system, proration is used to convert reported data to a calendar month basis. Only national level estimates are published due to the limited number of plants involved. Generally, individual items are not published if there are less than three plants reporting, or if any one plant has 60 percent or more of the total. One unique feature of the "Catfish Processing" report is the listing of cooperating processors by name on each month's release. This feature originally was used to solicit industry cooperation in maintaining coverage, but it has continued because of the processors' overall acceptance of this policy. Import and export data for frozen catfish fillets, which are compiled by the Department of Commerce, are also included in this report. Reliability: Catfish processing estimates are based on a census of all known active processors and, therefore, have no sampling variability. However, estimates may be subject to errors such as omissions, duplication, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing of the data. These errors are minimized through strict quality controls in the edit and summarization process, and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. Revision Policy: Revisions may be necessary following a review of late reports received from plants. Revisions of less than 2 percent of the existing published levels of any category will normally not be made. Definitions Used For Catfish Processing: Average Price Paid to Producers - Refers to the price of fish delivered to the processing plant door. Price includes charges for any services provided by the processing plant, such as seining and hauling, but does not include any adjustments based on year-end settlements. Fillets - Boned sides of the fish, cut lengthwise away from the backbone. Fresh Fish - Fish intended for immediate consumption. Also referred to as ice-packed. Frozen Fish - Fish which are individually quick frozen and glazed (IQF) or individually bagged and bulk frozen. Nuggets - Small fillets cut from below the rib section of the fish. Usually includes breading or added ingredients. Round & Gutted Only - Fish with no processing done or viscera only removed. Round Weight - A term for fish live weight. Steaks - Cross-section cuts from larger dressed fish. Strips - Finger size pieces of fish cut from fillets. Usually includes breading or added ingredients. Whole Dressed - Weight of whole fish with only head, viscera, and skin removed. Generally, 60 percent of the live weight remains as dressed fish. Processing data were compiled in cooperation with the following processors: America's Catch Harvest Select Amite River Industries La Louision Aqua Farm Catfish, Inc. Lake's Farm Raised Catfish, Inc. Carolina Classics Catfish, Inc. Limestone Fish Processors Confish, Inc. Pride of the Pond Corbin Fish Farm Prime Line Catfish Co. Delta Pride Catfish, Inc. Saul's Fish Processors Dorey Fish Co. Seabrook Seafood, Inc. Farm Fresh Catfish Co. Simmons Farm-Raised Fish Breeders of Idaho Southern Farm Fish Processors Franklin Catfish Southern Pride Freshwater Farms, Inc. Southfresh Farms Guidry Catfish Processors, Inc. The next "Catfish Processing" report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on February 23, 1995. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial status. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA Office of Communications at (202) 720-5881 (voice) or (202) 720-7808 (TDD). To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, USDA, Washington, D.C., 20250, or call (202) 720-7327 (voice) or (202) 720-1127 (TDD). USDA is an equal employment opportunity employer. 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