Catfish Processing National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released December 23, 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 8 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during November totaled 43.2 million pounds round weight, up 8 percent from November 1997. The average price paid to producers was 70 cents per pound for November 1998, down 1 cent from last month, but 1 cent above a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during November 1998 totaled 21.6 million pounds, up 10 percent from the comparable month in 1997. Sales of fresh fish, at 8.36 million pounds, were up 7 percent from November 1997 and represented 39 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 13.2 million pounds, were up 12 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 61 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 19 percent of the total, fillets accounted for 60 percent, and the remaining 21 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products. The November 1998 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.16 per pound, up 8 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.56 per pound, up 2 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets were up 8 cents at $2.75 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.33 per pound, 4 cents above November 1997. Prices for frozen whole fish were up 9 cents at $1.96, while frozen fillets at $2.62 per pound were up 6 cents from $2.56 a year ago. Freshwater catfish imports for October 1998 totaled 91.7 thousand pounds, down 44 percent from the amount reported from last October. Guyana accounted for 42 percent of the imports in September, Vietnam had 39 percent, while Brazil and Canada accounted for the remaining 19 percent. Exports reported for October 1998 were 9.17 thousand pounds. Japan received 67 percent of the exports, with the remaining 33 percent going to Spain and the United Kingdom. Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Census. Aq 1 (12-98) 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 92 Nov : 40,137 43,224 484,733 520,774 .69 .70 121 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, November 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 : 734 858 .99 1.04 1/ 1/ Whole Dressed : 2,268 2,294 1.70 1.73 1/ 1/ Total : 3,002 3,152 1.54 1.56 138 163 : Other : Steaks : 73 69 2.01 2.03 1/ 1/ Nuggets : 960 839 1.34 1.35 62 41 Other 2/ : 179 209 3.18 3.14 1/ 1/ Total : 1,212 1,117 1.66 1.73 67 46 : Fillets 3/ : 3,623 4,092 2.67 2.75 353 348 : Total Fresh : 7,837 8,361 2.08 2.16 558 557 : Frozen : Whole Fish : Round & Gutted : Only : Whole Dressed : 891 955 1.87 1.96 1,061 520 Total : 891 955 1.87 1.96 1,061 520 : Other : Steaks : 188 99 1.55 1.82 105 134 Nuggets : 1,741 2,141 1.21 1.15 1,278 1,578 Other 2/ : 1,017 1,078 2.45 2.70 622 1,125 Total : 2,946 3,318 1.66 1.67 2,005 2,837 : Fillets 3/ : 7,971 8,947 2.56 2.62 6,695 6,456 : Total Frozen : 11,808 13,220 2.29 2.33 9,761 9,813 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 19,645 21,581 2.20 2.27 10,319 10,370 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 January 21, 1999. 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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