Catfish Processing National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released November 24, 1998, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Catfish Processing" call John Lange (202) 720-0585 or Mike Barker at (202) 720-3243, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Catfish Processing Up 4 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during October totaled 47.9 million pounds round weight, up 4 percent from October 1997. The average price paid to producers was 71 cents per pound for October 1998, down two cents from last month, but 2 cents above a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during October 1998 totaled 23.2 million pounds, down 1 percent from the comparable month in 1997. Sales of fresh fish, at 9.36 million pounds, were down 2 percent from October 1997 and represented 40 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 13.9 million pounds, were up slightly from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 60 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 19 percent of the total, fillets accounted for 58 percent, and the remaining 23 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products. The October 1998 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.18 per pound, up 10 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.59 per pound, up 7 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets were up 9 cents at $2.78 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.32 per pound, 3 cents above October 1997. Prices for frozen whole fish were up 4 cents at $1.95, while frozen fillets at $2.67 per pound were up 7 cents from $2.60 a year ago. Freshwater catfish imports for September 1998 totaled 21.1 thousand pounds, down 34 percent from the amount reported from last September. Canada accounted for 69 percent of the imports in September, Vietnam had 19 percent, while Guyana accounted for the remaining 12 percent. Exports reported for September 1998 were 33.2 thousand pounds, all of which went to Germany. Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Census. Aq 1 (11-98) Farm-Raised Catfish: Quantity Processed and Prices Paid to Producers by Major Processors, and United States Imports, 1997-98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Round Weight Processed : Average Price : Imports :------------------------------------: Paid to : of Month : Monthly : Cumulative : Producers 1/ : Catfish 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ---------- 1,000 Pounds -------- Dollars Per Pound (000) Pounds : Jan : 42,409 46,723 42,409 46,723 .73 .69 64 91 Feb : 45,067 47,606 87,476 94,329 .73 .73 44 9 Mar : 48,431 53,761 135,907 148,090 .73 .78 44 99 Apr : 45,721 49,393 181,628 197,483 .73 .79 15 82 May : 43,409 45,218 225,037 242,701 .73 .79 0 208 Jun : 42,282 46,244 267,319 288,945 .72 .78 71 193 Jul : 43,376 46,383 310,695 335,328 .71 .76 134 195 Aug : 44,154 47,739 354,849 383,067 .70 .74 235 132 Sep : 43,472 46,579 398,321 429,646 .69 .73 32 21 Oct : 46,275 47,904 444,596 477,550 .69 .71 163 Nov : 40,137 484,733 .69 121 Dec : 40,216 524,949 .69 19 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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. Catfish Processors: Sales Volume, Average Price, and Ending Inventory, United States, October 1997-98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Sales : Average : Ending : Volume : Price : Inventory Item :------------------------------------------------------- : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 Pounds Dollars Per Pound 1,000 Pounds Fresh : Whole Fish : Round & Gutted : Only : 1,022 954 .98 1.05 1/ 1/ Whole Dressed : 2,576 2,477 1.70 1.77 1/ 1/ Total : 3,598 3,431 1.52 1.59 168 215 : Other : Steaks : 80 84 1.98 2.01 1/ 1/ Nuggets : 1,216 1,046 1.32 1.37 105 70 Other 2/ : 202 215 3.18 3.14 1/ 1/ Total : 1,498 1,345 1.60 1.69 118 127 : Fillets 3/ : 4,464 4,588 2.69 2.78 462 380 : Total Fresh : 9,560 9,364 2.08 2.18 748 722 : Frozen : Whole Fish : Round & Gutted : Only : Whole Dressed : 1,108 1,111 1.91 1.95 937 436 Total : 1,108 1,111 1.91 1.95 937 436 : Other : Steaks : 218 139 1.62 1.76 73 154 Nuggets : 2,383 2,517 1.22 1.10 1,112 1,992 Other 2/ : 1,090 1,314 2.59 2.69 701 609 Total : 3,691 3,970 1.65 1.65 1,886 2,755 : Fillets 3/ : 9,049 8,796 2.60 2.67 6,091 6,323 : Total Frozen : 13,848 13,877 2.29 2.32 8,914 9,514 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 23,408 23,241 2.20 2.27 9,662 10,236 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 24 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 Heartland Catfish Aqua Farm Catfish Lake's Farm Raised Catfish, Inc. Carolina Classics Catfish, Inc. Pride of the Pond Confish Inc. Pride of the South Catfish Co. Delta Pride Catfish, Inc. Prime Line Catfish Co Farm Fresh Catfish Co. Seabrook Seafood, Inc. Fast Catfish Simmons Farm-Raised Fish Breeders of Idaho Southern Farm Fish Processors Franklin Catfish Southern Pride Freshwater Farms, Inc. Southfresh Farms Guidry Catfish Processors, Inc. Superior Fish Processors * Estimated The next "Catfish Processing " report will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET on December 23, 1998. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD). 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