Aq 1 (3-04) Catfish Processing National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released March 22, 2004, 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 Down 2 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during February 2004 totaled 54.2 million pounds round weight, down 2 percent from February 2003. The average price paid to producers was 70.3 cents per pound for February 2004, up 3.5 cents from last month and 15.9 cents above a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during February 2004 totaled 28.5 million pounds, up 3 percent from the comparable month in 2003. Total end of the month inventory decreased 15 percent from last month, but was up 8 percent from a year ago. Sales of fresh fish, at 11.2 million pounds, were up 7 percent from February 2003 and represented 39 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 17.3 million pounds, were up 1 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 61 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 16 percent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 62 percent, and the remaining 22 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products. The February 2004 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.18 per pound, an increase of 30 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.53 per pound, up 23 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets were up 17 cents at $2.62 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.23 per pound, up 13 cents from February 2003. Prices for frozen whole fish were up 10 cents at $1.93, while frozen fillets at $2.57 per pound were up 18 cents from a year ago. Freshwater imports of frozen, boneless, catfish fillets for January 2004 totaled 215 thousand pounds, 84 percent below a year ago. Sixty percent of the imports were from China, 21 percent from Cambodia, with the remainder coming from Vietnam. Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for January 2004 totaled 272 thousand pounds, sixty-one percent of which went to Kuwait and the remainder to Germany and Turkey. Fresh fillet exports totaled 14.6 thousand pounds, all of which went to 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, 2003-2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Round Weight Processed : :-----------------------------------------------------------: Percent Month : Monthly :Percent of : Cumulative : of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2003 : 2004 : Year : 2003 : 2004 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -- 1,000 Pounds -- Percent --- 1,000 Pounds -- Percent : Jan : 55,523 53,849 97 55,523 53,849 97 Feb : 55,461 54,173 98 110,984 108,022 97 Mar : 65,007 175,991 Apr : 57,105 233,096 May : 58,424 291,520 Jun : 52,441 343,961 Jul : 54,089 398,050 Aug : 54,153 452,203 Sep : 51,885 504,088 Oct : 57,652 561,740 Nov : 51,246 612,986 Dec : 48,518 661,504 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Farm-Raised Catfish: Prices Paid to Producers by Processors and Imports, United States, 2003-2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Price per : Change : : Percent Month : Pound 1/ : from : Imports 2/ : of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2003 : 2004 : Year : 2002 : 2003 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- Dollars ---- Dollars 1,000 Pounds Percent : Jan : 0.529 0.668 0.139 1,322 215 16 Feb : 0.544 0.703 0.159 260 Mar : 0.585 332 Apr : 0.630 272 May : 0.618 703 Jun : 0.586 893 Jul : 0.564 435 Aug : 0.552 135 Sep : 0.560 150 Oct : 0.567 384 Nov : 0.610 331 Dec : 0.629 213 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Price for 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 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, February 2003-2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Sales : Average : Ending : Volume : Price : Inventory Item :--------------------------------------------------------- : 2003 : 2004 : 2003 : 2004 : 2003 : 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Dollars per Pound 1,000 Pounds : Fresh Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 1,099 1,117 0.86 1.00 * * Whole Dressed : 2,686 2,149 1.46 1.77 * * Total : 3,785 3,266 1.30 1.53 234 188 : Other : Steaks : 115 116 1.93 2.03 * * Nuggets : 1,230 1,030 1.14 1.23 87 109 Other 1/ : 187 372 2.83 2.89 * * Total : 1,532 1,518 1.41 1.70 122 128 : Fillets 2/ : 5,158 6,455 2.45 2.62 420 550 : Total Fresh : 10,475 11,239 1.88 2.18 776 866 : Frozen Fish : Whole Dressed : 1,418 1,349 1.83 1.93 1,596 1,438 : Other : Steaks : 130 144 1.71 1.81 73 92 Nuggets : 3,022 3,193 1.05 1.05 1,255 1,968 Other 1/ : 1,183 1,369 2.33 2.57 786 750 Total : 4,335 4,706 1.42 1.52 2,114 2,810 : Fillets 2/ : 11,358 11,232 2.39 2.57 5,530 5,674 : Total Frozen : 17,111 17,287 2.10 2.23 9,240 9,922 : Fresh & Frozen Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 1,099 1,117 0.86 1.00 * * Whole Dressed : 4,104 3,498 1.59 1.83 * * Total : 5,203 4,615 1.44 1.65 1,830 1,626 : Other : Steaks : 245 260 1.81 1.91 * * Nuggets : 4,252 4,223 1.08 1.09 1,342 2,077 Other 1/ : 1,370 1,741 2.40 2.64 * * Total : 5,867 6,224 1.42 1.56 2,236 2,938 : Fillets 2/ : 16,516 17,687 2.41 2.59 5,950 6,224 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 27,586 28,526 2.02 2.21 10,016 10,788 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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 April 21, 2004. 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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