Aq 1 (11-03) Catfish Processing National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released November 21, 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 2 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during October 2003 totaled 57.7 million pounds round weight, up 2 percent from October 2002. The average price paid to producers was 56.7 cents per pound for October 2003, up 0.7 cent from last month but 0.1 cent below a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during October 2003 totaled 27.9 million pounds, up slightly from the comparable month in 2002. Total end of the month inventory increased 5 percent from last month but was down slightly from a year ago. Sales of fresh fish, at 10.7 million pounds, were down 2 percent from October 2002 and represented 38 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 17.2 million pounds, were up 1 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 62 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 17 percent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 61 percent, and the remaining 22 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products. The October 2003 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.03 per pound, an increase of 10 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.36 per pound, up 8 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets were down 3 cents at $2.49 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.06 per pound, down 7 cents from October 2002. Prices for frozen whole fish were down 1 cent at $1.84, while frozen fillets at $2.39 per pound were up 1 cent from a year ago. Freshwater imports of frozen, boneless, catfish fillets for September 2003 totaled 150 thousand pounds, 78 percent below a year ago. Fifty-seven percent of the imports were from China, with the remaining 43 percent coming from Guyana. Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for September 2003 totaled 8.03 thousand pounds, all of which went to the United Arab Emirates. There were no fresh fillet exports reported. 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 57,105 113 214,441 233,096 109 May : 52,902 58,424 110 267,343 291,520 109 Jun : 49,450 52,441 106 316,793 343,961 109 Jul : 52,363 54,089 103 369,156 398,050 108 Aug : 54,383 54,153 100 423,539 452,203 107 Sep : 53,366 51,885 97 476,905 504,088 106 Oct : 56,576 57,652 102 533,481 561,740 105 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 0.020 414 332 80 Apr : 0.561 0.630 0.069 618 272 44 May : 0.574 0.618 0.044 1,491 703 47 Jun : 0.588 0.586 -0.002 982 893 91 Jul : 0.590 0.564 -0.026 957 435 45 Aug : 0.582 0.552 -0.030 632 135 21 Sep : 0.576 0.560 -0.016 670 150 22 Oct : 0.568 0.567 -0.001 572 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, October 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 : 1,193 1,071 0.83 0.87 * * Whole Dressed : 2,629 2,160 1.46 1.58 * * Total : 3,822 3,231 1.28 1.36 196 183 : Other : Steaks : 98 100 2.04 1.94 * * Nuggets : 1,253 966 1.17 1.17 94 96 Other 1/ : 245 295 2.85 2.82 * * Total : 1,596 1,361 1.48 1.58 105 117 : Fillets 2/ : 5,420 6,082 2.52 2.49 498 495 : Total Fresh : 10,838 10,674 1.93 2.03 799 795 : Frozen Fish : Whole Dressed : 1,328 1,383 1.85 1.84 769 936 : Other : Steaks : 111 144 1.69 1.86 63 125 Nuggets : 2,459 3,362 1.05 0.97 1,605 1,635 Other 1/ : 1,442 1,388 2.25 2.30 1,091 764 Total : 4,012 4,894 1.50 1.37 2,759 2,524 : Fillets 2/ : 11,622 10,924 2.38 2.39 6,659 6,706 : Total Frozen : 16,962 17,201 2.13 2.06 10,187 10,166 : Fresh & Frozen Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 1,193 1,071 0.83 0.87 * * Whole Dressed : 3,957 3,543 1.59 1.68 * * Total : 5,150 4,614 1.43 1.51 965 1,119 : Other : Steaks : 209 244 1.85 1.89 * * Nuggets : 3,712 4,328 1.09 1.01 1,699 1,731 Other 1/ : 1,687 1,683 2.34 2.39 * * Total : 5,608 6,255 1.49 1.42 2,864 2,641 : Fillets 2/ : 17,042 17,006 2.42 2.43 7,157 7,201 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 27,800 27,875 2.05 2.05 10,986 10,961 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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 23 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 Arkansas Catfish Growes LLC Lake's Farm Raised Catfish, Inc 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 Pride Freshwater Farms, Inc. Southfresh Farms Guidry Catfish Processors, Inc. Superior Fish Processors Harvest Select * Estimated The next "Catfish Processing" report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on December 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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