Aq 1 (8-04) Catfish Processing National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released August 23, 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 6 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during July 2004 totaled 51.1 million pounds round weight, down 6 percent from July 2003. The average price paid to producers was 68.2 cents per pound for July 2004, down 0.7 cent from last month but 11.8 cents above a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during July 2004 totaled 24.6 million pounds, down 7 percent from the comparable month in 2003. Total end of the month inventory increased 4 percent from last month and was up 2 percent from a year ago. Sales of fresh fish, at 9.62 million pounds, were down 12 percent from July 2003 and represented 39 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 15.0 million pounds, were down 3 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 63 percent, and the remaining 21 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products. The July 2004 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.25 per pound, an increase of 27 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.57 per pound, up 24 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets were up 25 cents at $2.73 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.29 per pound, up 21 cents from July 2003. Prices for frozen whole fish were up 13 cents at $1.95, while frozen fillets at $2.65 per pound were up 26 cents from a year ago. Freshwater imports of frozen, boneless, catfish fillets for June 2004 totaled 270 thousand pounds, 70 percent below year ago. Forty-three percent of the imports were from China, 28 percent from Guyana, with the remainder coming from Brazil and Vietnam. Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for June 2004 totaled 14.4 thousand pounds, with the majority going to Canada, and the balance to the Bahamas. Fresh fillet exports totaled 52.2 thousand pounds, all going to Canada. 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 60,272 93 175,991 168,294 96 Apr : 57,105 53,896 94 233,096 222,190 95 May : 58,424 52,324 90 291,520 274,514 94 Jun : 52,441 50,155 96 343,961 324,669 94 Jul : 54,089 51,055 94 398,050 375,724 94 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 : 2003 : 2004 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- Dollars ---- Dollars 1,000 Pounds Percent : Jan : 0.529 0.668 0.139 1,322 215 16 Feb : 0.544 0.703 0.159 260 204 78 Mar : 0.585 0.723 0.138 332 295 89 Apr : 0.630 0.728 0.098 272 328 121 May : 0.618 0.720 0.102 703 248 35 Jun : 0.586 0.689 0.103 893 270 30 Jul : 0.564 0.682 0.118 435 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, July 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 : 1,085 905 0.86 1.03 * * Whole Dressed : 2,468 1,970 1.52 1.79 * * Total : 3,553 2,875 1.33 1.57 181 162 : Other : Steaks : 111 116 1.93 2.07 * * Nuggets : 1,067 873 1.16 1.26 118 100 Other 1/ : 247 192 2.87 2.97 * * Total : 1,425 1,181 1.52 1.62 137 130 : Fillets 2/ : 5,984 5,559 2.48 2.73 442 540 : Total Fresh : 10,962 9,615 1.98 2.25 760 832 : Frozen Fish : Whole Dressed : 1,124 1,100 1.82 1.95 1,290 1,060 : Other : Steaks : 126 102 1.86 1.95 89 54 Nuggets : 2,853 2,724 0.97 0.93 2,149 2,499 Other 1/ : 1,393 1,246 2.31 2.72 919 824 Total : 4,372 4,072 1.42 1.50 3,157 3,377 : Fillets 2/ : 9,969 9,836 2.39 2.65 6,477 6,610 : Total Frozen : 15,465 15,008 2.08 2.29 10,924 11,047 : Fresh & Frozen Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 1,085 905 0.86 1.03 * * Whole Dressed : 3,592 3,070 1.61 1.85 * * Total : 4,677 3,975 1.45 1.68 1,471 1,222 : Other : Steaks : 237 218 1.89 2.01 * * Nuggets : 3,920 3,597 1.02 1.01 2,267 2,599 Other 1/ : 1,640 1,438 2.39 2.75 * * Total : 5,797 5,253 1.45 1.53 3,294 3,507 : Fillets 2/ : 15,953 15,395 2.42 2.68 6,919 7,150 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 26,427 24,623 2.04 2.27 11,684 11,879 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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 21 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 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. Fish Breeders of Idaho Simmons Farm-Raised Freshwater Farms, Inc. Southern Pride Guidry Catfish Processors, Inc. *Southfresh Farms Harvest Select Superior Fish Processors Haring's Pride * Estimated 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). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C., 20250-9410, or call 202-720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. ACCESS TO REPORTS!! 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