Aq 1 (6-01) Catfish Processing National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released June 21, 2001, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Catfish Processing" call Mike Barker at 202-720-3243, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Catfish Processing Up 7 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during May 2001 totaled 51.7 million pounds round weight, up 7 percent from May 2000. The average price paid to producers was 68.7 cents per pound for May 2001, down 0.7 cents from last month, and 9.8 cents below a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during May 2001 totaled 24.7 million pounds, down slightly from the comparable month in 2000. Sales of fresh fish, at 10.1 million pounds, were up 2 percent from May 2000 and represented 41 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 14.6 million pounds, were down 2 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 59 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 18 percent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 61 percent, and the remaining 21 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products. The May 2001 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.29 per pound, down 1 cent from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.65 per pound, down 3 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets were down 8 cents at $2.80 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.35 per pound, down 20 cents from May 2000. Prices for frozen whole fish were down 6 cents at $2.00, while frozen fillets at $2.70 per pound were down 16 cents from a year ago. Freshwater imports and exports of frozen, boneless, catfish fillets for April 2001 were not available at the time of this release. If available they will be included in the release on July 23, 2001. 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, 2000-01 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Round Weight Processed : :-----------------------------------------------------------: Percent Month : Monthly :Percent of : Cumulative : of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2000 : 2001 : Year : 2000 : 2001 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -- 1,000 Pounds -- Percent --- 1,000 Pounds -- Percent : Jan : 50,552 46,999 93 50,552 46,999 93 Feb : 50,942 50,257 99 101,494 97,256 96 Mar : 56,856 57,766 102 158,350 155,022 98 Apr : 48,781 52,478 108 207,131 207,500 100 May : 48,424 51,736 107 255,555 259,236 101 Jun : 48,011 303,566 Jul : 49,023 352,589 Aug : 53,204 405,793 Sep : 49,422 455,215 Oct : 51,412 506,627 Nov : 45,535 552,162 Dec : 41,441 593,603 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Farm-Raised Catfish: Paid to Producers by Processors and Imports, United States, 2000-01 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Price per : Change : : Percent Month : Pound 1/ : from : Imports 2/ : of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2000 : 2001 : Year : 2000 : 2001 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- Dollars ---- Dollars 1,000 Pounds Percent : Jan : 0.744 0.693 -0.051 487 862 177 Feb : 0.788 0.696 -0.092 235 510 217 Mar : 0.789 0.697 -0.092 309 1,201 389 Apr : 0.789 0.694 -0.095 554 May : 0.785 0.687 -0.098 698 Jun : 0.786 791 Jul : 0.760 945 Aug : 0.741 981 Sep : 0.727 674 Oct : 0.710 650 Nov : 0.696 871 Dec : 0.682 1,041 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Price for fish delivered to the processing plant door. Price excludes charges for any services provided by the processing plant, such as seining and hauling, but does not include adjustments based on year-end settlements. 2/ Pounds of frozen boneless fillets. Data furnished by U.S. Bureau of Census. Catfish Processors: Sales Volume, Average Price, and Ending Inventory, United States, May 2000-01 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Sales : Average : Ending : Volume : Price : Inventory Item :--------------------------------------------------------- : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Dollars per Pound 1,000 Pounds : Fresh Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 1,101 787 1.13 1.11 * * Whole Dressed : 2,382 2,484 1.90 1.80 * * Total : 3,483 3,271 1.68 1.65 232 170 : Other : Steaks : 81 73 2.10 2.05 * * Nuggets : 1,093 953 1.42 1.29 92 79 Other 1/ : 190 256 3.20 3.06 * * Total : 1,364 1,282 1.71 1.69 108 87 : Fillets 2/ : 5,099 5,587 2.88 2.80 428 453 : Total Fresh : 9,946 10,140 2.30 2.29 768 710 : Frozen Fish : Whole Dressed : 1,212 1,128 2.06 2.00 1,291 819 : Other : Steaks : 181 116 1.76 1.95 120 44 Nuggets : 1,970 2,536 1.11 1.10 2,065 1,361 Other 1/ : 1,179 1,297 2.81 2.62 1,156 1,193 Total : 3,330 3,949 1.74 1.62 3,341 2,598 : Fillets 2/ : 10,275 9,511 2.86 2.70 5,596 7,999 : Total Frozen : 14,817 14,588 2.55 2.35 10,228 11,416 : Fresh & Frozen Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 1,101 787 1.13 1.11 * * Whole Dressed : 3,594 3,612 1.95 1.86 * * Total : 4,695 4,399 1.78 1.74 1,523 989 : Other : Steaks : 262 189 1.87 1.99 * * Nuggets : 3,063 3,489 1.22 1.15 2,157 1,440 Other 1/ : 1,369 1,553 2.86 2.69 * * Total : 4,694 5,231 1.73 1.64 3,449 2,685 : Fillets 2/ : 15,374 15,098 2.87 2.74 6,024 8,452 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 24,763 24,728 2.45 2.33 10,996 12,126 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Not published to avoid disclosure of individual operations. 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 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 dresssed 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 p.m. ET on July 23, 2001. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs 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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