Aq 1 (10-00) Catfish Processing National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released October 23, 2000, 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 Down 2 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during September 2000 totaled 49.4 million pounds round weight, down 2 percent from September 1999. The average price paid to producers was 72.7 cents per pound for September 2000, down 1.4 cents from last month, and 0.1 cents below a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during September 2000 totaled 23.7 million pounds, down 3 percent from the comparable month in 1999. Sales of fresh fish, at 9.23 million pounds, were down 3 percent from September 1999 and represented 39 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 14.5 million pounds, were down 3 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 61 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 18 percent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 60 percent, and the remaining 22 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products. The September 2000 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.26 per pound, up 5 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.67 per pound, up 6 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets were unchanged at $2.85 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.44 per pound, down 3 cents from September 1999. Prices for frozen whole fish were unchanged at $2.01, while frozen fillets at $2.80 per pound were down 1 cent from a year ago. Freshwater catfish imports for August 2000 totaled 981 thousand pounds, more than twice the amount imported last August. Vietnam accounted for 87 percent of these imports, Guyana 9 percent, with the remainder coming from Brazil and Suriname. No exports were reported for August 2000. 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, 1999-2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Round Weight Processed : Average Price : Imports :------------------------------------: Paid to : of Month : Monthly : Cumulative : Producers 1/ : Catfish 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ---------- 1,000 Pounds -------- Dollars Per Pound (000) Pounds : Jan : 48,723 50,552 48,723 50,552 .703 .744 57 487 Feb : 48,891 50,942 97,614 101,494 .714 .788 53 235 Mar : 56,310 56,856 153,924 158,350 .732 .789 113 309 Apr : 46,830 48,781 200,754 207,131 .756 .789 250 554 May : 47,703 48,424 248,457 255,555 .777 .785 541 698 Jun : 48,445 48,011 296,902 303,566 .775 .786 372 791 Jul : 50,074 49,023 346,976 352,589 .768 .760 475 945 Aug : 50,372 53,204 397,348 405,793 .743 .741 479 981 Sep : 50,414 49,422 447,762 455,215 .728 .727 304 Oct : 52,407 500,169 .716 217 Nov : 48,118 548,287 .713 285 Dec : 48,341 596,628 .716 305 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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, September 1999-2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Sales : Average : Ending : Volume : Price : Inventory Item :------------------------------------------------------- : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 Pounds Dollars Per Pound 1,000 Pounds Fresh : Whole Fish : Round & Gutted : Only : 1,008 1,047 1.10 1.12 1/ 1/ Whole Dressed : 2,575 2,199 1.78 1.90 1/ 1/ Total : 3,583 3,246 1.61 1.67 177 151 : Other : Steaks : 80 67 2.08 2.08 1/ 1/ Nuggets : 1,095 1,075 1.38 1.34 118 97 Other 2/ : 179 190 3.24 3.09 1/ 1/ Total : 1,354 1,332 1.66 1.62 125 111 : Fillets 3/ : 4,550 4,650 2.85 2.85 494 495 : Total Fresh : 9,487 9,228 2.21 2.26 796 757 : Frozen : Whole Fish : Round & Gutted : Only : Whole Dressed : 1,051 976 2.01 2.01 644 527 Total : 1,051 976 2.01 2.01 644 527 : Other : Steaks : 110 99 1.91 1.90 96 64 Nuggets : 2,340 2,345 1.10 1.02 1,645 1,645 Other 2/ : 1,282 1,421 2.69 2.70 724 990 Total : 3,732 3,865 1.67 1.66 2,465 2,699 : Fillets 3/ : 10,160 9,674 2.81 2.80 4,599 7,605 : Total Frozen : 14,943 14,515 2.47 2.44 7,708 10,831 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 24,430 23,743 2.37 2.37 8,504 11,588 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 Haring's Pride 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. Delta Supreme Fish Processing *Seabrook Seafood, Inc. Farm Fresh Catfish Co Simmons Farm-Raised Fish Breeders of Idaho Southern Farm Fish Processors Freshwater Farms, Inc. Southern Pride *Guidry Catfish Processors, Inc. Southfresh Farms Harvest Select Superior Fish Processors * Estimated The next "Catfish Processing " report will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET on November 21, 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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