Aq 1 (6-02) Catfish Processing National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released June 21, 2002, 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 2 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during May 2002 totaled 52.9 million pounds round weight, up 2 percent from May 2001. The average price paid to producers was 57.4 cents per pound for May 2002, up 1.3 cents from last month, but 11.3 cents below a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during May 2002 totaled 27.3 million pounds, up 10 percent from the comparable month in 2001. Sales of fresh fish, at 11.1 million pounds, were up 9 percent from May 2001 and represented 41 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 16.2 million pounds, were up 11 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 63 percent, and the remaining 19 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products. The May 2002 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $1.98 per pound, down 31 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.36 per pound, down 29 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets were down 27 cents at $2.53 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.17 per pound, down 18 cents from May 2001. Prices for frozen whole fish were down 20 cents at $1.80, while frozen fillets at $2.38 per pound were down 32 cents from a year ago. Freshwater imports of frozen, boneless, catfish fillets for April 2002 totaled 618 thousand pounds, 65 percent below the amount from a year ago. More than ninety-four percent of the imports were from Vietnam, with the remainder coming from Canada and Guyana. Exports for April 2002, were 6.00 thousand pounds, all of which were to Israel. 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, 2001-2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Round Weight Processed : :-----------------------------------------------------------: Percent Month : Monthly :Percent of : Cumulative : of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2001 : 2002 : Year : 2001 : 2002 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -- 1,000 Pounds -- Percent --- 1,000 Pounds -- Percent : Jan : 46,999 52,551 112 46,999 52,551 112 Feb : 50,257 52,856 105 97,256 105,407 108 Mar : 57,766 58,340 101 155,022 163,747 106 Apr : 52,478 50,694 97 207,500 214,441 103 May : 51,736 52,902 102 259,236 267,343 103 Jun : 47,883 307,119 Jul : 47,829 354,948 Aug : 51,690 406,638 Sep : 49,699 456,337 Oct : 52,264 508,601 Nov : 44,670 553,271 Dec : 43,837 597,108 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Farm-Raised Catfish: Paid to Producers by Processors and Imports, United States, 2001-2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Price per : Change : : Percent Month : Pound 1/ : from : Imports 2/ : of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2001 : 2002 : Year : 2001 : 2002 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- Dollars ---- Dollars 1,000 Pounds Percent : Jan : 0.693 0.549 -0.144 862 1,037 120 Feb : 0.696 0.555 -0.141 510 1,048 205 Mar : 0.697 0.565 -0.132 1,201 414 34 Apr : 0.694 0.561 -0.133 1,787 618 35 May : 0.687 0.574 -0.113 1,989 Jun : 0.669 2,114 Jul : 0.656 1,968 Aug : 0.624 1,385 Sep : 0.610 1,536 Oct : 0.596 1,608 Nov : 0.566 1,724 Dec : 0.554 1,395 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 2001-2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Sales : Average : Ending : Volume : Price : Inventory Item :--------------------------------------------------------- : 2001 : 2002 : 2001 : 2002 : 2001 : 2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Dollars per Pound 1,000 Pounds : Fresh Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 787 868 1.11 0.87 * * Whole Dressed : 2,484 2,776 1.80 1.50 * * Total : 3,271 3,644 1.65 1.36 170 167 : Other : Steaks : 73 74 2.05 1.98 * * Nuggets : 953 1,422 1.29 1.19 79 90 Other 1/ : 256 236 3.06 2.82 * * Total : 1,282 1,732 1.69 1.45 87 113 : Fillets 2/ : 5,587 5,682 2.80 2.53 453 355 : Total Fresh : 10,140 11,058 2.29 1.98 710 635 : Frozen Fish : Whole Dressed : 1,128 1,246 2.00 1.80 819 878 : Other : Steaks : 116 144 1.95 1.59 44 61 Nuggets : 2,536 2,132 1.10 1.10 1,361 1,169 Other 1/ : 1,297 1,276 2.62 2.48 1,193 1,047 Total : 3,949 3,552 1.62 1.62 2,598 2,277 : Fillets 2/ : 9,511 11,405 2.70 2.38 7,999 6,174 : Total Frozen : 14,588 16,203 2.35 2.17 11,416 9,329 : Fresh & Frozen Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 787 868 1.11 0.87 * * Whole Dressed : 3,612 4,022 1.86 1.59 * * Total : 4,399 4,890 1.74 1.47 989 1,045 : Other : Steaks : 189 218 1.99 1.72 * * Nuggets : 3,489 3,554 1.15 1.14 1,440 1,259 Other 1/ : 1,553 1,512 2.69 2.53 * * Total : 5,231 5,284 1.64 1.56 2,685 2,390 : Fillets 2/ : 15,098 17,087 2.74 2.43 8,452 6,529 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 24,728 27,261 2.33 2.09 12,126 9,964 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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 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 Consolidated Catfish Co. LLC. 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 22, 2002. 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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