Aq 1 (4-03) Catfish Processing National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released April 22, 2003, 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 11 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during March 2003 totaled 65.0 million pounds round weight, up 11 percent from March 2002 and a new monthly record. The average price paid to producers was 58.5 cents per pound for March 2003, up 4.1 cents from last month and 2.0 cents above a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during March 2003 totaled 30.5 million pounds, up 6 percent from the comparable month in 2002. Sales of fresh fish, at 12.7 million pounds, were up 13 percent from March 2002 and represented 42 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 17.8 million pounds, were up 2 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 58 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 March 2003 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $1.95 per pound, down 1 cent from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.35 per pound, up 5 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets were down 5 cents at $2.44 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.16 per pound, up 3 cents from March 2002. Prices for frozen whole fish were up 3 cents at $1.84, while frozen fillets at $2.43 per pound were up 6 cents from a year ago. Freshwater imports of frozen, boneless, catfish fillets for January 2003 totaled 1.32 million pounds, 27 percent above the amount from a year ago. Ninty-seven percent of the imports were from Vietnam, with the remainder coming from Guyana and China. Imports for February 2003 totaled 260 thousand pounds, down 75 percent from February last year. Seventy-five percent of February 2003 imports were reported from Vietnam, 18 percent from China and the remainder from Guyana, India and Thailand. Exports of Fresh and Frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for January 2003 totaled 10.8 thousand pounds. Exports were to the Bahamas and Honduras. Exports for February 2003 totaled 15.1 thousand pounds and went to Mexico and the United Kingdom. Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Census. . Farm-Raised Catfish: Quantity Processed by Major Processors, United States, 2002-2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Round Weight Processed : :-----------------------------------------------------------: Percent Month : Monthly :Percent of : Cumulative : of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2002 : 2003 : Year : 2002 : 2003 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -- 1,000 Pounds -- Percent --- 1,000 Pounds -- Percent : Jan : 52,551 55,523 106 52,551 55,523 106 Feb : 52,856 55,461 105 105,407 110,984 105 Mar : 58,340 65,007 111 163,747 175,991 107 Apr : 50,694 214,441 May : 52,902 267,343 Jun : 49,450 316,793 Jul : 52,363 369,156 Aug : 54,383 423,539 Sep : 53,366 476,905 Oct : 56,576 533,481 Nov : 50,072 583,553 Dec : 47,048 630,601 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Farm-Raised Catfish: Prices Paid to Producers by Processors and Imports, United States, 2002-2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Price per : Change : : Percent Month : Pound 1/ : from : Imports 2/ : of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2002 : 2003 : Year : 2002 : 2003 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- Dollars ---- Dollars 1,000 Pounds Percent : Jan : 0.549 0.529 -0.020 1,037 1,322 127 Feb : 0.555 0.544 -0.011 1,048 260 25 Mar : 0.565 0.585 0.020 414 Apr : 0.561 618 May : 0.574 1,491 Jun : 0.588 982 Jul : 0.590 957 Aug : 0.582 632 Sep : 0.576 670 Oct : 0.568 572 Nov : 0.560 874 Dec : 0.544 906 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, March 2002-2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Sales : Average : Ending : Volume : Price : Inventory Item :--------------------------------------------------------- : 2002 : 2003 : 2002 : 2003 : 2002 : 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Dollars per Pound 1,000 Pounds : Fresh Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 1,053 1,284 0.86 0.87 * * Whole Dressed : 2,809 3,055 1.44 1.52 * * Total : 3,862 4,339 1.30 1.35 225 211 : Other : Steaks : 75 128 1.96 1.93 * * Nuggets : 1,040 1,195 1.17 1.16 71 116 Other 1/ : 260 276 2.90 2.82 * * Total : 1,375 1,599 1.54 1.51 83 120 : Fillets 2/ : 6,010 6,715 2.49 2.44 474 495 : Total Fresh : 11,247 12,653 1.96 1.95 782 826 : Frozen Fish : Whole Dressed : 1,472 1,500 1.81 1.84 997 1,794 : Other : Steaks : 114 124 1.76 1.75 71 87 Nuggets : 2,639 2,961 1.08 1.09 659 1,350 Other 1/ : 1,390 1,753 2.46 2.46 1,408 808 Total : 4,143 4,838 1.56 1.60 2,138 2,245 : Fillets 2/ : 11,783 11,494 2.37 2.43 7,317 5,194 : Total Frozen : 17,398 17,832 2.13 2.16 10,452 9,233 : Fresh & Frozen Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 1,053 1,284 0.86 0.87 * * Whole Dressed : 4,281 4,555 1.57 1.63 * * Total : 5,334 5,839 1.44 1.47 1,222 2,005 : Other : Steaks : 189 252 1.84 1.84 * * Nuggets : 3,679 4,156 1.11 1.11 730 1,466 Other 1/ : 1,650 2,029 2.53 2.51 * * Total : 5,518 6,437 1.56 1.58 2,221 2,365 : Fillets 2/ : 17,793 18,209 2.41 2.43 7,791 5,689 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 28,645 30,485 2.06 2.07 11,234 10,059 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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 26 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: Acadiana Pride Haring's Pride America's Catch Heartland Catfish Amite River Industries Lake's Farm Raised Catfish, Inc Arkansas Catfish Growes LLC Prairie Lands Seafood Aqua Farm Catfish Pride of the Pond Carolina Classics Catfish, Inc. Pride of the South Catfish Co. Consolidated Catfish Co. LLC. Prime Line Catfish Co. Delta Pride Catfish, Inc Seabrook Seafood, Inc. Delta Supreme Fish Processing 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 May 22, 2003. 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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