HDR1012000170010322961500CATFISH PROCESSING Released March 22, 1996, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Catfish Processing" call Jim 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@NASS.USDA.GOV. Catfish Processing Down 1 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during February totaled 38.0 million pounds round weight, down 1 percent from February 1995. The average price paid to producers was 78 cents per pound for February 1996, one cent above last month and one cent below a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during February totaled 20.6 million pounds, an increase of 3 percent from the comparable month in 1995. Sales of fresh fish, at 8.72 million pounds, were up 12 percent from February 1995 and represented 42 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 11.9 million pounds, were down 3 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 58 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 23 percent of the total, fillets accounted for 55 percent, and the remaining 22 percent were mostly, steaks, nuggets, and value added products. The February 1996 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.19 per pound, down 3 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish decreased 5 cents per pound to $1.64. Prices for fresh fillets decreased 5 cents to $2.85 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.48 per pound, down 3 cents from February 1995. Prices for frozen whole fish were down 4 cents to $1.98, while frozen fillets at $2.80 per pound were down 6 cents from $2.86 a year ago. Freshwater catfish imports during December 1995 totaled 181 thousand pounds, down 6 percent from the 192 thousand pounds imported the previous year. Eighty-seven percent of imports were from Brazil and the remaining 13 percent came from Canada and Vietnam. Exports reported for December 1995 totaled 44.5 thousand pounds, all of which were to Germany. January 1996 data were not available at time of this release. If available they will be included in the release on April 24, 1996. Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Census. Aq 1 (3-96) Farm-Raised Catfish: Quantity Processed and Prices Paid to Producers by Major Processors, and United States Imports, 1995-96 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Round Weight Processed : Average Price : Imports :------------------------------------: Paid to : of Month : Monthly : Cumulative : Producers 1/ : Catfish 2/ 3/ :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1995 : 1996 : 1995 : 1996 : 1995 : 1996 : 1994 : 1995 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ---------- 1,000 Pounds -------- Dollars Per Pound (000) Pounds : Jan : 38,807 38,475 38,807 38,475 .78 .77 535 61 Feb : 38,515 38,004 77,322 76,479 .79 .78 102 49 Mar : 42,200 119,522 .79 163 172 Apr : 36,588 156,110 .79 57 181 May : 37,030 193,140 .79 459 384 Jun : 36,047 229,187 .79 362 203 Jul : 35,800 264,987 .79 261 294 Aug : 38,827 303,814 .79 342 245 Sep : 37,634 341,448 .78 322 402 Oct : 39,456 380,904 .78 200 219 Nov : 34,119 415,023 .78 491 35 Dec : 31,863 446,886 .78 192 181 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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/ January 1996 data not available at publication time, due to Government furlough. Catfish Processors: Sales Volume, Average Price, and Ending Inventory, United States, February 1995-96 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Sales : Average : Ending : Volume : Price : Inventory Item :------------------------------------------------------- : 1995 : 1996 : 1995 : 1996 : 1995 : 1996 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 Pounds Dollars Per Pound 1,000 Pounds Fresh : Whole Fish : Round & Gutted : Only : 756 884 1.08 1.08 1/ 1/ Whole Dressed : 2,617 2,709 1.85 1.80 1/ 1/ Total : 3,373 3,593 1.69 1.64 239 294 : Other : Steaks : 109 103 2.11 2.10 1/ 1/ Nuggets : 801 970 1.42 1.39 76 87 Other 2/ : 205 190 3.16 3.44 1/ 1/ Total : 1,115 1,263 1.80 1.75 86 116 : Fillets 3/ : 3,281 3,866 2.90 2.85 369 617 : Total Fresh : 7,769 8,722 2.22 2.19 694 1,027 : Frozen : Whole Fish : Round & Gutted : Only : Whole Dressed : 1,676 1,248 2.02 1.98 1,891 1,110 Total : 1,676 1,248 2.02 1.98 1,891 1,110 : Other : Steaks : 207 189 1.85 1.87 1/ 1/ Nuggets : 1,454 1,755 1.29 1.36 782 585 Other 2/ : 2,249 1,271 2.69 2.74 1/ 1/ Total : 3,910 3,215 2.13 1.94 2,604 1,724 : Fillets 3/ : 6,653 7,428 2.86 2.80 5,235 4,561 : Total Frozen : 12,239 11,891 2.51 2.48 9,730 7,395 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 20,008 20,613 2.40 2.36 10,424 8,422 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 Heartland Catfish Carolina Classics Catfish, Inc. Lake's Farm Raised Catfish, Inc. Confish Inc. Morning Fresh Foods Corbin Fish Farm Pride of the Pond Delta Pride Catfish, Inc. Prime Line Catfish Co. Dorey Fish Co. *Seabrook Seafood, Inc. Farm Fresh Catfish Co. Simmons Farm-Raised Fast Catfish Southern Farm Fish Processors Fish Breeders of Idaho Southern Pride Franklin Catfish Southfresh Farms Freshwater Farms, Inc. Superior Fish Processors GAF Fisheries * Estimated The next "Catfish Processing" report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on April 24, 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.