Aq 1 (2-05) Catfish Processing National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released February 22, 2005, 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 Unchanged Farm-raised catfish processed during January 2005 totaled 53.9 million pounds round weight, up slightly from January 2004. The average price paid to producers was 72.5 cents per pound for January 2005, up 3.5 cents from last month and 5.7 cents above a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during January 2005 totaled 26.2 million pounds, down 3 percent from the comparable month in 2004. Total end of the month inventory decreased 3 percent from last month, but was up 15 percent from January last year. Sales of fresh fish, at 9.69 million pounds, were down 9 percent from January 2004 and represented 37 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 16.5 million pounds, were unchanged from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 63 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 16 percent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 61 percent, and the remaining 23 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products. The January 2005 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.28 per pound, up 15 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.63 per pound, up 14 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets were up 22 cents at $2.81 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.29 per pound, up 14 cents from January 2004. Prices for frozen whole fish were up 7 cents at $1.97 and frozen fillets at $2.66 per pound were up 19 cents from a year ago. Freshwater imports of frozen, boneless, Ictalurus, Pangasius and Siluriformes catfish fillets for December 2004 totaled 1.42 million pounds, substantially above last year. Eighty percent of all imports were from Vietnam with the remainder coming from Brazil, Cambodia and China. The Ictalurus (channel catfish) imports totaled 205 thousand pounds. Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for December 2004 totaled 13.9 thousand pounds. Of the frozen fillets, 3.44 thousand pounds went to Canada and the remainder to Germany. Fresh fillet exports totaled 53.0 thousand pounds, with 30.6 thousand pounds going to Canada and the rest to the United Kingdom. Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Census. 2004 Catfish Processing Down 5 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during 2004 totaled 630 million pounds, 5 percent below the 662 million pounds processed in 2003. The average priced paid to producers in 2004 was 69.7 cents per pound, 20 percent above the 58.1 cents paid last year. Net pounds of processed fish sold in 2004 totaled 307 million pounds, down 4 percent from the 319 million pounds sold last year. The 2004 average price received for processed fish was $2.23 per pound, up 9 percent from $2.05 a year ago. Inventory on hand at the end of 2004 totaled 15.2 million pounds, an increase of 12 percent from the 13.6 million pounds on hand at the close of 2003. Farm-Raised Catfish: Quantity Processed by Major Processors, United States, 2004-2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Round Weight Processed : :-----------------------------------------------------------: Percent Month : Monthly :Percent of : Cumulative : of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2004 : 2005 : Year : 2004 : 2005 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -- 1,000 Pounds -- Percent -- 1,000 Pounds -- Percent : Jan : 53,849 53,856 100 53,849 53,856 100 Feb : 54,173 108,022 Mar : 60,272 168,294 Apr : 53,896 222,190 May : 52,324 274,514 Jun : 50,155 324,669 Jul : 51,055 375,724 Aug : 53,295 429,019 Sep : 51,329 480,348 Oct : 52,396 532,744 Nov : 49,536 582,280 Dec : 48,170 630,450 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Farm-Raised Catfish: Prices Paid to Producers by Processors and Imports, United States, 2004-2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Price per : Change : : Percent Month : Pound 1/ : from : Imports 2/ : of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2004 : 2005 : Year : 2003 : 2004 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- Dollars ---- Dollars 1,000 Pounds Percent : Jan : 0.668 0.725 0.057 1,322 215 16 Feb : 0.703 260 204 78 Mar : 0.723 332 295 89 Apr : 0.728 272 328 121 May : 0.720 703 248 35 Jun : 0.689 893 270 30 Jul : 0.682 435 123 28 Aug : 0.683 135 1,637 1,213 Sep : 0.683 150 1,801 1,201 Oct : 0.695 384 1,104 288 Nov : 0.689 331 1,579 477 Dec : 0.690 213 1,420 667 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. Includes Ictalurus, Pangasius and Silurformes catfish. Data furnished by U.S. Bureau of Census. Catfish Processors: Sales Volume, Average Price, and Ending Inventory, United States, January 2004-2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Sales : Average : Ending : Volume : Price : Inventory Item :--------------------------------------------------------- : 2004 : 2005 : 2004 : 2005 : 2004 : 2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Dollars per Pound 1,000 Pounds : Fresh Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 952 825 0.95 1.08 * * Whole Dressed : 2,253 2,286 1.69 1.81 * * Total : 3,205 3,111 1.49 1.63 191 209 : Other : Steaks : 100 104 2.00 2.12 * * Nuggets : 1,005 948 1.20 1.27 110 117 Other 1/ : 330 248 2.83 3.02 * * Total : 1,435 1,300 1.63 1.67 138 137 : Fillets 2/ : 5,964 5,274 2.59 2.81 507 512 : Total Fresh : 10,604 9,685 2.13 2.28 836 858 : Frozen Fish : Whole Dressed : 1,185 1,116 1.90 1.97 1,401 724 : Other : Steaks : 132 194 1.80 1.71 88 73 Nuggets : 3,051 3,209 1.00 1.00 2,049 1,653 Other 1/ : 1,325 1,382 2.48 2.80 893 966 Total : 4,508 4,785 1.46 1.55 3,030 2,692 : Fillets 2/ : 10,843 10,618 2.47 2.66 7,438 10,368 : Total Frozen : 16,536 16,519 2.15 2.29 11,869 13,784 : Fresh & Frozen Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 952 825 0.95 1.08 * * Whole Dressed : 3,438 3,402 1.76 1.86 * * Total : 4,390 4,227 1.60 1.72 1,592 933 : Other : Steaks : 232 298 1.89 1.85 * * Nuggets : 4,056 4,157 1.05 1.06 2,159 1,770 Other 1/ : 1,655 1,630 2.55 2.83 * * Total : 5,943 6,085 1.50 1.57 3,168 2,829 : Fillets 2/ : 16,807 15,892 2.51 2.71 7,945 10,880 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 27,140 26,204 2.14 2.29 12,705 14,642 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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 Processors: Fresh and Frozen Pounds Sold by Month, United States, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Whole Fish : Other : : :-------------------------------------------------------: : Month : Rnd & : : : : : : :Fillets: Total :Gutted : Whole : Total :Steaks :Nuggets: Other : Total : 2/ : Sales : Only :Dressed: : : : 1/ : : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Fresh : Jan : 952 2,253 3,205 100 1,005 330 1,435 5,964 10,604 Feb : 1,117 2,149 3,266 116 1,030 372 1,518 6,455 11,239 Mar : 1,266 2,542 3,808 123 1,104 340 1,567 6,815 12,190 Apr : 928 2,073 3,001 131 936 359 1,426 5,887 10,314 May : 906 1,947 2,853 116 859 324 1,299 5,688 9,840 Jun : 876 1,831 2,707 110 821 317 1,248 5,500 9,455 Jul : 905 1,970 2,875 116 873 192 1,181 5,559 9,615 Aug : 855 2,147 3,002 97 793 283 1,173 5,483 9,658 Sep : 877 1,984 2,861 87 881 260 1,228 4,865 8,954 Oct : 862 2,214 3,076 98 879 286 1,263 4,992 9,331 Nov : 1,057 1,893 2,950 79 829 244 1,152 4,336 8,438 Dec : 807 1,897 2,704 84 776 235 1,095 4,162 7,961 : Total :11,408 24,900 36,308 1,257 10,786 3,542 15,585 65,706 117,599 : Frozen : Jan : 1,185 1,185 132 3,051 1,325 4,508 10,843 16,536 Feb : 1,349 1,349 144 3,193 1,369 4,706 11,232 17,287 Mar : 1,302 1,302 126 3,095 1,560 4,781 10,572 16,655 Apr : 1,008 1,008 109 2,538 1,193 3,840 9,871 14,719 May : 991 991 101 2,952 1,118 4,171 9,762 14,924 Jun : 1,024 1,024 115 3,480 1,243 4,838 9,579 15,441 Jul : 1,100 1,100 102 2,724 1,246 4,072 9,836 15,008 Aug : 1,164 1,164 113 3,977 1,274 5,364 10,352 16,880 Sep : 935 935 113 3,263 1,218 4,594 10,191 15,720 Oct : 1,128 1,128 130 3,373 1,184 4,687 10,717 16,532 Nov : 1,010 1,010 106 3,193 1,109 4,408 9,300 14,718 Dec : 979 979 107 3,068 1,061 4,236 9,545 14,760 : Total : 13,175 13,175 1,398 37,907 14,900 54,205 121,800 189,180 : Fresh & : Frozen : Jan : 952 3,438 4,390 232 4,056 1,655 5,943 16,807 27,140 Feb : 1,117 3,498 4,615 260 4,223 1,741 6,224 17,687 28,526 Mar : 1,266 3,844 5,110 249 4,199 1,900 6,348 17,387 28,845 Apr : 928 3,081 4,009 240 3,474 1,552 5,266 15,758 25,033 May : 906 2,938 3,844 217 3,811 1,442 5,470 15,450 24,764 Jun : 876 2,855 3,731 225 4,301 1,560 6,086 15,079 24,896 Jul : 905 3,070 3,975 218 3,597 1,438 5,253 15,395 24,623 Aug : 855 3,311 4,166 210 4,770 1,557 6,537 15,835 26,538 Sep : 877 2,919 3,796 200 4,144 1,478 5,822 15,056 24,674 Oct : 862 3,342 4,204 228 4,252 1,470 5,950 15,709 25,863 Nov : 1,057 2,903 3,960 185 4,022 1,353 5,560 13,636 23,156 Dec : 807 2,876 3,683 191 3,844 1,296 5,331 13,707 22,721 : Total :11,408 38,075 49,483 2,655 48,693 18,442 69,790 187,506 306,779 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Processors: Fresh and Frozen Average Sales Price by Month, United States, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Whole Fish : Other : : :-------------------------------------------------------: : Month : Rnd & : : : : : : :Fillets: Total :Gutted : Whole : Total :Steaks :Nuggets: Other : Total : 2/ : Sales : Only :Dressed: : : : 1/ : : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Pound Fresh : Jan : 0.95 1.69 1.49 2.00 1.20 2.83 1.63 2.59 2.13 Feb : 1.00 1.77 1.53 2.03 1.23 2.89 1.70 2.62 2.18 Mar : 1.05 1.79 1.57 2.11 1.28 2.95 1.71 2.71 2.22 Apr : 1.04 1.82 1.60 2.16 1.27 2.97 1.78 2.73 2.27 May : 1.02 1.83 1.60 2.11 1.29 2.97 1.78 2.74 2.28 Jun : 1.03 1.80 1.57 2.11 1.27 2.99 1.78 2.74 2.28 Jul : 1.03 1.79 1.57 2.07 1.26 2.97 1.62 2.73 2.25 Aug : 1.02 1.77 1.58 2.09 1.27 3.00 1.76 2.73 2.25 Sep : 1.02 1.77 1.56 2.12 1.26 2.99 1.69 2.74 2.22 Oct : 1.02 1.78 1.59 2.07 1.27 3.00 1.72 2.76 2.23 Nov : 0.97 1.78 1.51 2.10 1.27 3.02 1.70 2.77 2.18 Dec : 1.04 1.77 1.57 2.12 1.27 3.01 1.71 2.77 2.22 : Avg : 1.02 1.78 1.56 2.09 1.26 2.96 1.71 2.71 2.23 : Frozen : Jan : 1.90 1.90 1.80 1.00 2.48 1.46 2.47 2.15 Feb : 1.93 1.93 1.81 1.05 2.57 1.52 2.57 2.23 Mar : 1.97 1.97 1.91 1.09 2.63 1.61 2.67 2.31 Apr : 2.03 2.03 2.02 1.12 2.69 1.63 2.70 2.38 May : 2.01 2.01 1.92 1.04 2.60 1.48 2.68 2.30 Jun : 1.96 1.96 1.92 0.93 2.71 1.41 2.65 2.22 Jul : 1.95 1.95 1.95 0.93 2.72 1.50 2.65 2.29 Aug : 1.97 1.97 1.98 0.89 2.66 1.33 2.63 2.17 Sep : 1.94 1.94 1.92 0.88 2.64 1.37 2.61 2.21 Oct : 1.88 1.88 1.91 0.91 2.67 1.38 2.60 2.21 Nov : 1.93 1.93 1.88 0.92 2.72 1.40 2.60 2.19 Dec : 1.96 1.96 1.92 0.96 2.78 1.44 2.62 2.24 : Avg : 1.95 1.95 1.91 0.97 2.65 1.46 2.62 2.24 : Fresh & : Frozen : Jan : 0.95 1.76 1.60 1.89 1.05 2.55 1.50 2.51 2.14 Feb : 1.00 1.83 1.65 1.91 1.09 2.64 1.56 2.59 2.21 Mar : 1.05 1.85 1.67 2.01 1.14 2.69 1.64 2.69 2.27 Apr : 1.04 1.89 1.71 2.10 1.16 2.75 1.67 2.71 2.33 May : 1.02 1.89 1.70 2.02 1.10 2.68 1.55 2.70 2.29 Jun : 1.03 1.86 1.68 2.01 0.99 2.77 1.49 2.68 2.24 Jul : 1.03 1.85 1.68 2.01 1.01 2.75 1.53 2.68 2.27 Aug : 1.02 1.84 1.69 2.03 0.95 2.72 1.41 2.66 2.20 Sep : 1.02 1.82 1.65 2.01 0.96 2.70 1.44 2.65 2.21 Oct : 1.02 1.81 1.67 1.98 0.98 2.73 1.45 2.65 2.22 Nov : 0.97 1.83 1.62 1.97 0.99 2.77 1.46 2.65 2.19 Dec : 1.04 1.83 1.67 2.01 1.02 2.82 1.50 2.67 2.23 : Avg : 1.02 1.84 1.66 1.99 1.04 2.71 1.51 2.65 2.23 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Processors: Fresh and Frozen End-of-Month Inventory by Month, United States, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Whole Fish : Other : : :-------------------------------------------------------: : Month : Rnd & : : : : : : :Fillets: Total :Gutted : Whole : Total :Steaks :Nuggets: Other : Total : 2/ : Sales : Only :Dressed: : : : 1/ : : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Fresh : Jan : * * 191 * 110 * 138 507 836 Feb : * * 188 * 109 * 128 550 866 Mar : * * 316 * 125 * 159 552 1,027 Apr : * * 184 * 93 * 128 487 799 May : * * 211 * 77 * 102 512 825 Jun : * * 237 * 103 * 134 579 950 Jul : * * 162 * 100 * 130 540 832 Aug : * * 146 * 109 * 122 530 798 Sep : * * 168 * 135 * 149 624 941 Oct : * * 151 * 98 * 109 490 750 Nov : * * 127 * 94 * 102 473 702 Dec : * * 120 * 92 * 98 357 575 : Frozen : Jan : 1,401 1,401 88 2,049 893 3,030 7,438 11,869 Feb : 1,438 1,438 92 1,968 750 2,810 5,674 9,922 Mar : 1,415 1,415 105 2,097 775 2,977 5,539 9,931 Apr : 1,363 1,363 97 2,890 880 3,867 6,032 11,262 May : 1,327 1,327 69 2,783 868 3,720 6,120 11,167 Jun : 1,133 1,133 64 2,216 796 3,076 6,232 10,441 Jul : 1,060 1,060 54 2,499 824 3,377 6,610 11,047 Aug : 806 806 77 1,992 665 2,734 7,319 10,859 Sep : 704 704 102 1,599 819 2,520 8,496 11,720 Oct : 577 577 98 1,560 545 2,203 9,239 12,019 Nov : 553 553 109 1,560 764 2,433 10,533 13,519 Dec : 685 685 123 1,575 971 2,669 11,243 14,597 : Fresh & : Frozen : Jan : * * 1,592 * 2,159 * 3,168 7,945 12,705 Feb : * * 1,626 * 2,077 * 2,938 6,224 10,788 Mar : * * 1,731 * 2,222 * 3,136 6,091 10,958 Apr : * * 1,547 * 2,983 * 3,995 6,519 12,061 May : * * 1,538 * 2,860 * 3,822 6,632 11,992 Jun : * * 1,370 * 2,319 * 3,210 6,811 11,391 Jul : * * 1,222 * 2,599 * 3,507 7,150 11,879 Aug : * * 952 * 2,101 * 2,856 7,849 11,657 Sep : * * 872 * 1,734 * 2,669 9,120 12,661 Oct : * * 728 * 1,658 * 2,312 9,729 12,769 Nov : * * 680 * 1,654 * 2,535 11,006 14,221 Dec : * * 805 * 1,667 * 2,767 11,600 15,172 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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. 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