Aq 1 (12-99) Catfish Processing National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released December 23, 1999, 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 11 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during November totaled 48.1 million pounds round weight, up 11 percent from November 1998. The average price paid to producers was 71.3 cents per pound for November 1999, down 0.3 cents from last month, but 1.3 cents above a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during November 1999 totaled 22.3 million pounds, up 4 percent from the comparable month in 1998. Sales of fresh fish, at 8.68 million pounds, were up 4 percent from November 1998 and represented 39 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 13.7 million pounds, were up 3 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 fish sold, fillets accounted for 61 percent, and the remaining 20 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products. The November 1999 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.20 per pound, up 4 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.59 per pound, up 3 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets were up 9 cents to $2.84 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.45 per pound, up 12 cents from November 1998. Prices for frozen whole fish were up 6 cents to $2.02, while frozen fillets at $2.77 per pound were up 15 cents from a year ago. Freshwater catfish imports for October 1999 totaled 217 thousand pounds, significantly more than the amount imported in October 1998. Vietnam accounted for 83 percent, Brazil 13 percent, and 4 percent were from Thailand. Exports reported for October 1999 totaled 19.3 thousand pounds, of which 92 percent went to Germany and 8 percent to Hong Kong. Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Census. Farm-Raised Catfish: Quantity Processed and Prices Paid to Producers by Major Processors, and United States Imports, 1998-99 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Round Weight Processed : Average Price : Imports :------------------------------------: Paid to : of Month : Monthly : Cumulative : Producers 1/ : Catfish 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ---------- 1,000 Pounds -------- Dollars Per Pound (000) Pounds : Jan : 46,723 48,723 46,723 48,723 .69 .703 91 57 Feb : 47,606 48,891 94,329 97,614 .73 .714 9 53 Mar : 53,761 56,310 148,090 153,924 .78 .732 99 113 Apr : 49,393 46,830 197,483 200,754 .79 .756 82 250 May : 45,218 47,703 242,701 248,457 .79 .777 208 541 Jun : 46,244 48,445 288,945 296,902 .78 .775 193 372 Jul : 46,383 50,074 335,328 346,976 .76 .768 195 475 Aug : 47,739 50,372 383,067 397,348 .74 .743 132 479 Sep : 46,579 50,414 429,646 447,762 .73 .728 21 304 Oct : 47,904 52,407 477,550 500,169 .71 .716 92 217 Nov : 43,224 48,118 520,774 548,287 .70 .713 174 Dec : 43,581 564,355 .70 90 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 1998-99 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Sales : Average : Ending : Volume : Price : Inventory Item :------------------------------------------------------- : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 Pounds Dollars Per Pound 1,000 Pounds Fresh : Whole Fish : Round & Gutted : Only : 858 993 1.04 1.08 1/ 1/ Whole Dressed : 2,294 2,216 1.73 1.79 1/ 1/ Total : 3,152 3,209 1.56 1.59 163 159 : Other : Steaks : 69 74 2.03 2.06 1/ 1/ Nuggets : 839 1,045 1.35 1.36 41 101 Other 2/ : 209 180 3.14 3.21 1/ 1/ Total : 1,117 1,299 1.73 1.65 46 109 : Fillets 3/ : 4,092 4,171 2.75 2.84 348 392 : Total Fresh : 8,361 8,679 2.16 2.20 557 660 : Frozen : Whole Fish : Round & Gutted : Only : Whole Dressed : 955 1,043 1.96 2.02 520 729 Total : 955 1,043 1.96 2.02 520 729 : Other : Steaks : 99 112 1.82 1.85 134 120 Nuggets : 2,141 2,000 1.15 1.09 1,578 2,064 Other 2/ : 1,078 1,096 2.70 2.71 1,125 806 Total : 3,318 3,208 1.67 1.67 2,837 2,990 : Fillets 3/ : 8,947 9,414 2.62 2.77 6,456 6,515 : Total Frozen : 13,220 13,665 2.33 2.45 9,813 10,234 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 21,581 22,344 2.27 2.36 10,370 10,894 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 25 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. Plantation Fisheries Confish Inc. Pride of the Pond Delta Pride Catfish, Inc. Pride of the South Catfish Co. Delta Supreme Fish Processing 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 20, 2000. 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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