Aq 1 (3-05) Catfish Processing National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released March 21, 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 Down 5 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during February 2005 totaled 51.7 million pounds round weight, down 5 percent from February 2004. The average price paid to producers was 73.1 cents per pound for February 2005, up 0.6 cent from last month and 2.8 cents above a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during February 2005 totaled 26.5 million pounds, down 7 percent from the comparable month in 2004. Total end of the month inventory decreased 9 percent from last month but was up 23 percent from a year ago. Sales of fresh fish, at 10.1 million pounds, were down 10 percent from February 2004 and represented 38 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 16.4 million pounds, were down 5 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 62 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 February 2005 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.26 per pound, an increase of 8 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.63 per pound, up 10 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets were up 13 cents at $2.75 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.32 per pound, up 9 cents from February 2004. Prices for frozen whole fish were up 8 cents at $2.01, and frozen fillets at $2.66 per pound were up 9 cents from a year ago. Freshwater imports of frozen, boneless, Ictalurus, Pangasius and Siluriformes catfish fillets for January 2005 totaled 1.38 million pounds, substantially above last year. Sixty-one percent of all imports were from Vietnam with the remainder coming from Cambodia and China. The Ictalurus (channel catfish) imports totaled 541 thousand pounds. Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for January 2005 totaled 28.5 thousand pounds. Of the frozen fillets, 17.8 thousand pounds went to Mexico, and the remainder to Canada, the Bahamas, and Pakistan. Fresh fillet exports totaled 81.7 thousand pounds, with 42.7 thousand pounds going to Canada and the rest to Mexico, Pakistan 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, 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 51,720 95 108,022 105,576 98 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 : 2004 : 2005 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- Dollars ---- Dollars 1,000 Pounds Percent : Jan : 0.668 0.725 0.057 215 1,383 643 Feb : 0.703 0.731 0.028 204 Mar : 0.723 295 Apr : 0.728 328 May : 0.720 248 Jun : 0.689 270 Jul : 0.682 123 Aug : 0.683 1,637 Sep : 0.683 1,801 Oct : 0.695 1,104 Nov : 0.689 1,579 Dec : 0.690 1,420 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, February 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 : 1,117 904 1.00 1.09 * * Whole Dressed : 2,149 2,273 1.77 1.81 * * Total : 3,266 3,177 1.53 1.63 188 169 : Other : Steaks : 116 97 2.03 2.12 * * Nuggets : 1,030 961 1.23 1.29 109 107 Other 1/ : 372 237 2.89 3.03 * * Total : 1,518 1,295 1.70 1.67 128 130 : Fillets 2/ : 6,455 5,615 2.62 2.75 550 520 : Total Fresh : 11,239 10,087 2.18 2.26 866 819 : Frozen Fish : Whole Dressed : 1,349 1,117 1.93 2.01 1,438 800 : Other : Steaks : 144 108 1.81 1.96 92 73 Nuggets : 3,193 3,068 1.05 1.03 1,968 1,977 Other 1/ : 1,369 1,677 2.57 2.78 750 692 Total : 4,706 4,853 1.52 1.66 2,810 2,742 : Fillets 2/ : 11,232 10,469 2.57 2.66 5,674 8,911 : Total Frozen : 17,287 16,439 2.23 2.32 9,922 12,453 : Fresh & Frozen Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 1,117 904 1.00 1.09 * * Whole Dressed : 3,498 3,390 1.83 1.88 * * Total : 4,615 4,294 1.65 1.73 1,626 969 : Other : Steaks : 260 205 1.91 2.04 * * Nuggets : 4,223 4,029 1.09 1.09 2,077 2,084 Other 1/ : 1,741 1,914 2.64 2.81 * * Total : 6,224 6,148 1.56 1.66 2,938 2,872 : Fillets 2/ : 17,687 16,084 2.59 2.69 6,224 9,431 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 28,526 26,526 2.21 2.30 10,788 13,272 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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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