Aq 1 (2-01) Catfish Processing National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released February 23, 2001, 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 7 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during January 2001 totaled 47.0 million pounds round weight, down 7 percent from January 2000. The average price paid to producers was 69.3 cents per pound for January 2001, up 1.1 cents from last month, but 5.1 cents below a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during January 2001 totaled 24.5 million pounds, down 4 percent from the comparable month in 2000. Sales of fresh fish, at 9.84 million pounds, were up 2 percent from January 2000 and represented 40 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 14.7 million pounds, were down 7 percent 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 fish sold, fillets accounted for 60 percent, and the remaining 21 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products. The January 2001 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.20 per pound, down 2 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.59 per pound, down 4 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets were down 2 cents at $2.80 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.40 per pound, down 3 cents from January 2000. Prices for frozen whole fish were down 4 cents at $1.98, while frozen fillets at $2.72 per pound were down 9 cents from a year ago. Freshwater catfish imports for December 2000 totaled 1.04 million pounds, more than triple the amount imported the previous year. Vietnam accounted for 96 percent of the imports with the remainder coming from Guyana, Canada, and Thailand. There were no exports reported for December 2000. Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Census. 2000 Catfish Processing Down 1 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during 2000 totaled 594 million pounds, 1 percent below the 597 million pounds processed in 1999. The average priced paid to producers in 2000 was 75.1 cents per pound, 2 percent above the 73.7 cents paid last year. Net pounds of processed fish sold in 2000 totaled 297 million pounds, 2 percent above the 293 million pounds sold last year. The 2000 average price received for processed fish was$ 2.36 per pound, up 1 percent from $2.34 a year ago. Farm-Raised Catfish: Quantity Processed and Prices Paid to Producers by Major Processors, and United States Imports, 2000-2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Round Weight Processed : Average Price : Imports :------------------------------------: Paid to : of Month : Monthly : Cumulative : Producers 1/ : Catfish 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 : 1999 : 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ---------- 1,000 Pounds -------- Dollars Per Pound (000) Pounds : Jan : 50,552 46,999 50,552 46,999 .744 .693 57 487 Feb : 50,942 101,494 .788 53 235 Mar : 56,856 158,350 .789 113 309 Apr : 48,781 207,131 .789 250 554 May : 48,424 255,555 .785 541 698 Jun : 48,011 303,566 .786 372 791 Jul : 49,023 352,589 .760 475 945 Aug : 53,204 405,793 .741 479 981 Sep : 49,422 455,215 .727 304 674 Oct : 51,412 506,627 .710 217 650 Nov : 45,535 552,162 .696 285 871 Dec : 41,441 593,603 .682 305 1,041 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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, January 1999-2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Sales : Average : Ending : Volume : Price : Inventory Item :------------------------------------------------------- : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 Pounds Dollars Per Pound 1,000 Pounds Fresh : Whole Fish : Round & Gutted : Only : 986 1,139 1.14 1.10 1/ 1/ Whole Dressed : 2,510 2,377 1.80 1.79 1/ 1/ Total : 3,496 3,516 1.63 1.59 234 222 : Other : Steaks : 106 69 1.98 2.07 1/ 1/ Nuggets : 1,122 1,118 1.36 1.29 102 100 Other 2/ : 201 256 3.19 3.05 1/ 1/ Total : 1,429 1,443 1.66 1.64 105 108 : Fillets 3/ : 4,686 4,884 2.82 2.80 460 586 : Total Fresh : 9,611 9,843 2.22 2.20 799 916 : Frozen : Whole Fish : Round & Gutted : Only : Whole Dressed : 1,231 1,156 2.02 1.98 1,403 727 Total : 1,231 1,156 2.02 1.98 1,403 727 : Other : Steaks : 124 113 1.96 1.89 133 67 Nuggets : 2,755 2,238 1.07 1.08 1,915 988 Other 2/ : 1,037 1,326 2.76 2.66 972 1,370 Total : 3,916 3,677 1.55 1.67 3,020 2,425 : Fillets 3/ : 10,654 9,831 2.81 2.72 7,640 7,787 : Total Frozen : 15,801 14,664 2.43 2.40 12,063 10,939 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 25,412 24,507 2.35 2.32 12,862 11,855 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 Processors: Fresh and Frozen Annual Sales Volume by Month, United States, 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Whole Fish : Other : : :-------------------------------------------------------: : Month : Rnd & : : : : : : :Fillets: Total :Gutted : Whole : Total :Steaks :Nuggets: Other : Total : 2/ : Sales : Only :Dressed: : : : 1/ : : : ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Fresh : Jan : 986 2,510 3,496 106 1,122 201 1,429 4,686 9,611 Feb : 1,026 2,370 3,396 119 1,135 183 1,437 4,853 9,686 Mar : 1,141 2,890 4,031 105 1,360 220 1,685 5,957 11,673 Apr : 1,003 2,652 3,655 89 1,276 182 1,547 5,206 10,408 May : 1,101 2,382 3,483 81 1,093 190 1,364 5,099 9,946 Jun : 1,281 2,300 3,581 80 1,026 193 1,299 4,792 9,672 Jul : 1,151 2,340 3,491 74 1,053 213 1,340 4,650 9,481 Aug : 1,048 2,497 3,545 76 1,130 232 1,438 4,899 9,882 Sep : 1,047 2,199 3,246 67 1,075 190 1,332 4,650 9,228 Oct : 1,125 2,379 3,504 77 1,124 272 1,473 5,283 10,260 Nov : 945 2,026 2,971 60 949 262 1,271 4,355 8,597 Dec : 986 2,007 2,993 62 899 237 1,198 4,099 8,290 : Total: 12,840 28,552 41,392 996 13,242 2,575 16,813 58,529 116,734 : Frozen : Jan : 1,231 1,231 124 2,755 1,037 3,916 10,654 15,801 Feb : 1,302 1,302 99 2,740 1,240 4,079 10,287 15,668 Mar : 1,421 1,421 138 2,783 1,495 4,416 11,651 17,488 Apr : 1,219 1,219 106 2,065 1,216 3,387 9,910 14,516 May : 1,212 1,212 181 1,970 1,179 3,330 10,275 14,817 Jun : 1,168 1,168 116 2,926 1,111 4,153 10,349 15,670 Jul : 1,308 1,308 104 2,779 1,163 4,046 10,076 15,430 Aug : 1,108 1,108 99 2,627 1,301 4,027 10,830 15,965 Sep : 976 976 99 2,345 1,421 3,865 9,674 14,515 Oct : 1,032 1,032 111 2,751 1,472 4,334 9,410 14,776 Nov : 944 944 81 2,426 1,300 3,807 8,563 13,314 Dec : 877 877 75 2,438 1,102 3,615 7,970 12,462 : Total : 13,798 13,798 1,333 30,605 15,037 46,975 119,649 180,422 : Fresh &: Frozen: : Jan : 986 3,741 4,727 230 3,877 1,238 5,345 15,340 25,412 Feb : 1,026 3,672 4,698 218 3,875 1,423 5,516 15,140 25,354 Mar : 1,141 4,311 5,452 243 4,143 1,715 6,101 17,608 29,161 Apr : 1,003 3,871 4,874 195 3,341 1,398 4,934 15,116 24,924 May : 1,101 3,594 4,695 262 3,063 1,369 4,694 15,374 24,763 Jun : 1,281 3,468 4,749 196 3,952 1,304 5,452 15,141 25,342 Jul : 1,151 3,648 4,799 178 3,832 1,376 5,386 14,726 24,911 Aug : 1,048 3,605 4,653 175 3,757 1,533 5,465 15,729 25,847 Sep : 1,047 3,175 4,222 166 3,420 1,611 5,197 14,324 23,743 Oct : 1,125 3,411 4,536 188 3,875 1,744 5,807 14,693 25,036 Nov : 945 2,970 3,915 141 3,375 1,562 5,078 12,918 21,911 Dec : 986 2,884 3,870 137 3,337 1,339 4,813 12,069 20,752 : Total : 12,840 42,350 55,190 2,329 43,847 17,612 63,788 178,178 297,156 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes all products not already reported, including weight of breading, and added ingredients. 2/ Includes regular, shank, and strip fillets; excludes any breaded products. Catfish Processors: Fresh and Frozen Average Sales Price by Month, United States, 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Whole Fish : Other : : :-------------------------------------------------------: : Month : Rnd & : : : : : : :Fillets: Total :Gutted : Whole : Total :Steaks :Nuggets: Other : Total : 2/ : Sales : Only :Dressed: : : : 1/ : : : ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Pound Fresh : Jan : 1.14 1.80 1.63 1.98 1.36 3.19 1.66 2.82 2.22 Feb : 1.15 1.87 1.67 2.05 1.40 3.22 1.69 2.87 2.27 Mar : 1.15 1.88 1.69 2.12 1.41 3.24 1.69 2.89 2.30 Apr : 1.15 1.88 1.70 2.13 1.41 3.22 1.66 2.88 2.29 May : 1.13 1.90 1.68 2.10 1.42 3.20 1.71 2.88 2.30 Jun : 1.12 1.88 1.63 2.04 1.40 3.18 1.71 2.90 2.27 Jul : 1.12 1.88 1.65 2.09 1.41 3.16 1.72 2.90 2.27 Aug : 1.14 1.90 1.70 2.09 1.36 3.14 1.69 2.88 2.28 Sep : 1.12 1.90 1.67 2.08 1.34 3.09 1.62 2.85 2.26 Oct : 1.12 1.85 1.64 2.06 1.31 3.08 1.68 2.83 2.26 Nov : 1.09 1.83 1.62 2.07 1.31 3.07 1.71 2.83 2.25 Dec : 1.06 1.80 1.58 2.06 1.30 3.05 1.68 2.81 2.20 : Avg : 1.12 1.87 1.66 2.07 1.37 3.15 1.68 2.86 2.27 : Frozen : Jan : 2.02 2.02 1.96 1.07 2.76 1.55 2.81 2.43 Feb : 2.06 2.06 1.92 1.14 2.82 1.67 2.86 2.48 Mar : 2.08 2.08 1.99 1.24 2.86 1.81 2.88 2.54 Apr : 2.07 2.07 2.04 1.20 2.81 1.81 2.88 2.56 May : 2.06 2.06 1.76 1.11 2.81 1.74 2.86 2.55 Jun : 2.00 2.00 1.89 1.02 2.84 1.53 2.86 2.44 Jul : 2.00 2.00 1.91 1.07 2.84 1.60 2.86 2.46 Aug : 2.01 2.01 1.97 1.07 2.76 1.64 2.82 2.46 Sep : 2.01 2.01 1.90 1.02 2.70 1.66 2.80 2.44 Oct : 1.98 1.98 1.89 1.00 2.67 1.59 2.78 2.37 Nov : 2.02 2.02 1.91 1.06 2.73 1.64 2.74 2.38 Dec : 1.99 1.99 1.91 1.03 2.66 1.55 2.70 2.32 : Avg : 2.03 2.03 1.91 1.08 2.77 1.65 2.83 2.46 : Fresh & : Frozen : : Jan : 1.14 1.87 1.73 1.97 1.15 2.83 1.58 2.81 2.35 Feb : 1.15 1.94 1.78 1.99 1.22 2.87 1.68 2.86 2.40 Mar : 1.15 1.95 1.79 2.05 1.30 2.91 1.78 2.88 2.44 Apr : 1.15 1.94 1.79 2.08 1.28 2.86 1.76 2.88 2.38 May : 1.13 1.95 1.78 1.87 1.22 2.86 1.73 2.87 2.45 Jun : 1.12 1.92 1.72 1.95 1.12 2.89 1.57 2.87 2.38 Jul : 1.12 1.92 1.75 1.98 1.16 2.89 1.63 2.87 2.39 Aug : 1.14 1.93 1.77 2.02 1.16 2.82 1.65 2.84 2.33 Sep : 1.12 1.93 1.75 1.97 1.12 2.75 1.65 2.82 2.30 Oct : 1.12 1.89 1.72 1.96 1.09 2.73 1.61 2.80 2.27 Nov : 1.09 1.89 1.72 1.98 1.13 2.79 1.66 2.77 2.27 Dec : 1.06 1.86 1.67 1.98 1.10 2.73 1.58 2.74 2.27 : Avg : 1.12 1.92 1.75 1.98 1.17 2.83 1.66 2.84 2.36 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes all products not already reported, including weight of breading, and added ingredients. 2/ Includes regular, shank, and strip fillets; excludes any breaded products. Catfish Processors: Fresh and Frozen End-of-Month Inventory by Month, United States, 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Whole Fish : Other : : :-------------------------------------------------------: : Month : Rnd & : : : : : : :Fillets: :Gutted : Whole : Total :Steaks :Nuggets: Other : Total : 2/ : Total : Only :Dressed: : : : 1/ : : : ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Fresh : Jan : 3/ 3/ 234 3/ 102 3/ 105 460 799 Feb : 3/ 3/ 233 3/ 129 3/ 141 520 894 Mar : 3/ 3/ 203 3/ 86 3/ 91 494 788 Apr : 3/ 3/ 145 3/ 63 3/ 70 399 614 May : 3/ 3/ 232 3/ 92 3/ 108 428 768 Jun : 3/ 3/ 212 3/ 91 3/ 99 448 759 Jul : 3/ 3/ 203 3/ 102 3/ 114 462 779 Aug : 3/ 3/ 187 3/ 112 3/ 127 578 892 Sep : 3/ 3/ 151 3/ 97 3/ 111 495 757 Oct : 3/ 3/ 188 3/ 130 3/ 153 591 932 Nov : 3/ 3/ 188 3/ 68 3/ 81 449 718 Dec : 3/ 3/ 116 3/ 80 3/ 86 336 538 : Frozen : Jan : 1,403 1,403 133 1,915 972 3,020 7,640 12,063 Feb : 1,639 1,639 152 1,663 722 2,537 7,498 11,674 Mar : 1,552 1,552 183 1,591 921 2,695 6,886 11,133 Apr : 1,419 1,419 172 1,684 1,086 2,942 6,163 10,524 May : 1,291 1,291 120 2,065 1,156 3,341 5,596 10,228 Jun : 1,620 1,620 98 1,622 1,130 2,850 5,084 9,554 Jul : 943 943 72 1,381 976 2,429 5,598 8,970 Aug : 714 714 67 1,348 1,043 2,458 6,200 9,372 Sep : 527 527 64 1,645 990 2,699 7,605 10,831 Oct : 484 484 64 1,596 1,034 2,694 8,340 11,518 Nov : 521 521 82 1,785 1,190 3,057 9,624 13,202 Dec : 661 661 79 1,368 1,335 2,782 9,617 13,060 : Fresh & : Frozen : Jan : 3/ 3/ 1,637 3/ 2,017 3/ 3,125 8,100 12,862 Feb : 3/ 3/ 1,872 3/ 1,792 3/ 2,678 8,018 12,568 Mar : 3/ 3/ 1,755 3/ 1,677 3/ 2,786 7,380 11,921 Apr : 3/ 3/ 1,564 3/ 1,747 3/ 3,012 6,562 11,138 May : 3/ 3/ 1,523 3/ 2,157 3/ 3,449 6,024 10,996 Jun : 3/ 3/ 1,832 3/ 1,713 3/ 2,949 5,532 10,313 Jul : 3/ 3/ 1,146 3/ 1,483 3/ 2,543 6,060 9,749 Aug : 3/ 3/ 901 3/ 1,460 3/ 2,585 6,778 10,264 Sep : 3/ 3/ 678 3/ 1,742 3/ 2,810 8,100 11,588 Oct : 3/ 3/ 672 3/ 1,726 3/ 2,847 8,931 12,450 Nov : 3/ 3/ 709 3/ 1,853 3/ 3,138 10,073 13,920 Dec : 3/ 3/ 777 3/ 1,448 3/ 2,868 9,953 13,598 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes all products not already reported, including weight of breading, and added ingredients. 2/ Includes regular, shank, and strip fillets; excludes any breaded products. 3/ Not published to avoid disclosure of individual operations. 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 March 23, 2001. 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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