HDR1012000170010123961500Catfish Processing HDR2012000170010123961500Catfish Processing Narr. & Tables Released January 23,1996, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Catfish Processing" call James E. Brewster at (202) 720-8784, office hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. For assistance with general agricultural statistics, information about NASS, its products or services, contact the NASS Information Hotline at 1-800-727-9540 or E-mail: NASS@AG.GOV. Catfish Processing Down 7 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during December totaled 31.9 million pounds round weight, down 7 percent from December 1994. The average price paid to producers was 78 cents per pound for December 1995, unchanged from the last three months and 1 cent above a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during December totaled 16.0 million pounds, an increase of 4 percent from the comparable month in 1994. Sales of fresh fish, at 6.63 million pounds, were up 5 percent from December 1994 and represented 41 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 9.39 million pounds, were up 3 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 59 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 24 percent of the total, fillets accounted for 53 percent, and the remaining 23 percent were mostly, steaks, nuggets, and value added products. The December 1995 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.20 per pound, down 1 cent from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish decreased 1 cent per pound to $1.65. Prices for fresh fillets decreased 2 cents to $2.89 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.45 per pound, down 3 cents from December 1994. Prices for frozen whole fish were unchanged at $2.01, while frozen fillets at $2.82 per pound were down 3 cents from $2.85 a year ago. Freshwater catfish imports during October 1995 totaled 219 thousand pounds, up 10 percent from the 200 thousand pounds imported the previous year. Ninty-two percent of imports were from Brazil, 7 percent from Vietnam and the remaining 1 percent coming from Canada and Thailand. Exports reported for October 1995 totaled 54.2 thousand pounds, with 94 percent going to Germany and the remainder to the United Kingdom. November data were not available at time of this release due to Government furlough. If available they will be included in the release on February 23, 1996. Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Census. Aq 1 (1-96) Farm-Raised Catfish: Quantity Processed and Prices Paid to Producers by Major Processors, and United States Imports, 1994-95 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Round Weight Processed : Average Price : Imports :------------------------------------: Paid to : of Month : Monthly : Cumulative : Producers 1/ : Catfish 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1994 : 1995 : 1994 : 1995 : 1994 : 1995 : 1994 : 1995 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ---------- 1,000 Pounds ---------- Dollars Per Pound (000) Pounds : Jan : 36,714 38,807 36,714 38,807 .74 .78 535 61 Feb : 35,035 38,515 71,749 77,322 .77 .79 102 49 Mar : 40,446 42,200 112,195 119,522 .79 .79 163 172 Apr : 34,494 36,588 146,689 156,110 .80 .79 57 181 May : 34,163 37,030 180,852 193,140 .80 .79 459 384 Jun : 34,595 36,047 215,447 229,187 .80 .79 362 203 Jul : 35,901 35,800 251,348 264,987 .80 .79 261 294 Aug : 39,813 38,827 291,161 303,814 .80 .79 342 245 Sep : 38,716 37,634 329,877 341,448 .80 .78 322 402 Oct : 39,072 39,456 368,949 380,904 .77 .78 200 219 Nov : 36,054 34,119 405,003 415,023 .77 .78 491 3/ Dec : 34,266 31,863 439,269 446,886 .77 .78 192 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Price for fish delivered to 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. 3/ Data not available at publication time, due to Government furlough. Catfish Processors: Sales Volume, Average Price, and Ending Inventory, United States, December 1994-95 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Sales : Average : Ending : Volume : Price : Inventory Item :------------------------------------------------------- : 1994 : 1995 : 1994 : 1995 : 1994 : 1995 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 Pounds Dollars Per Pound 1,000 Pounds Fresh : Whole Fish : Round & Gutted : Only : 597 728 1.09 1.07 1/ 1/ Whole Dressed : 2,265 2,119 1.79 1.82 1/ 1/ Total : 2,862 2,847 1.66 1.65 184 166 : Other : Steaks : 94 1/ 2.10 1/ 1/ 1/ Nuggets : 532 662 1.37 1.38 54 86 Other 2/ : 164 1/ 3.36 1/ 1/ 1/ Total : 790 938 1.87 1.81 105 93 : Fillets 3/ : 2,665 2,845 2.91 2.89 722 394 : Total Fresh : 6,317 6,630 2.21 2.20 1,011 653 : Frozen : Whole Fish : Round & Gutted : Only : Whole Dressed : 1,169 959 2.01 2.01 1,416 1,186 Total : 1,169 959 2.01 2.01 1,416 1,186 : Other : Steaks : 178 196 1.77 1.79 252 1/ Nuggets : 1,111 1,596 1.24 1.30 1,223 1,003 Other 2/ : 1,375 904 2.54 2.74 1,746 1/ Total : 2,664 2,696 1.95 1.81 3,221 2,828 : Fillets 3/ : 5,311 5,733 2.85 2.82 5,975 6,242 : Total Frozen : 9,144 9,388 2.48 2.45 10,612 10,256 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 15,461 16,018 2.37 2.35 11,623 10,909 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Not published to avoid disclosure of individual operations. 2/ Includes all products not already reported, including weight of breading and added ingredients. 3/ Includes regular, shank, and strip fillets; excludes any breaded product. 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 Guidry Catfish Processors, Inc. Amite River Industries Harvest Select Aqua Farm Catfish, Inc. Lake's Farm Raised Catfish, Inc. Carolina Classics Catfish, Inc. Morning Fresh Food, Inc. Confish, Inc. Pride of the Pond Corbin Fish Farm Prime Line Catfish Co. Delta Pride Catfish, Inc. Seabrook Seafood, Inc. Dorey Fish Co. Simmons Farm-Raised Farm Fresh Catfish Co. Southern Farm Fish Processors Fish Breeders of Idaho Southern Pride Franklin Catfish Southfresh Farms Freshwater Farms, Inc. Superior Fish Processors * Estimated The next "Catfish Processing" report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on February 23, 1996. 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. SUBSCRIBE TODAY!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data produc INTERNET ACCESS All NASS reports are now available free of charge on the worldwide Internet. Fo connect to the Internet and select: 1. Worldwide Web: http://www.usda.gov/nass/ OR 2. For Gopher/Telenet/FTP access: HOST=usda.mannlib.cornell.edu OR 3. For a subscription direct to your e-mail address, send an e-mail messa usda-reports@usda.mannlib.cornell.edu and in the body of the message t the word: lists -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRINTED REPORTS OR DATA PRODUCTS CALL OUR TOLL-FREE ORDER DESK: 1-800-999-6779 (U.S. and Canada) Other areas, please call l-703-834-0125 FAX: 1-703-834-0110 (Visa, MasterCard, check, or money order acceptable for payment.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASSISTANCE For assistance with general agricultural statistics or further information about NASS or its products or services, contact the NASS INFORMATION HOTLINE 1-800-727-9540, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or e-mail: NASS@AG.GOV. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------