Aq 1 (2-06) Catfish Processing National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released February 21, 2006, 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 8 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during January 2006 totaled 49.7 million pounds round weight, down 8 percent from January 2005. The average price paid to producers was 72.6 cents per pound for January 2006, unchanged from last month but 0.1 cent above a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during January 2006 totaled 26.9 million pounds, up 3 percent from the comparable month in 2005. Total end of the month inventory decreased 2 percent from last month and was down 9 percent from January last year. Sales of fresh fish, at 9.48 million pounds, were down 2 percent from January 2005 and represented 35 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 17.4 million pounds, were up 5 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 65 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 2006 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.27 per pound, down 1 cent from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.53 per pound, down 11 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets were up 5 cents at $2.86 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.27 per pound, down 2 cents from January 2005. Prices for frozen whole fish were up 3 cents at $2.00 and frozen fillets at $2.67 per pound were up 1 cent from a year ago. Freshwater imports of frozen, boneless, Ictalurus, Pangasius and Siluriformes catfish fillets for December 2005 totaled 3.24 million pounds, substantially above last year. Forty-four percent of all imports were from Vietnam with the remainder coming from Cambodia, China, China-Taipei, Malaysia and Thailand. The Ictalurus (channel catfish) imports totaled 461 thousand pounds. Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for December 2005 totaled 44.0 thousand pounds. Of the frozen fillets, 24.6 thousand pounds went to Canada and the remainder to the Bahamas and Japan. Fresh fillet exports totaled 66.6 thousand pounds, with 35.7 thousand pounds going to Canada and the rest to Argentina, Mexico and Nigeria. Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Census. 2005 Catfish Processing Down 5 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during 2005 totaled 601 million pounds, 5 percent below the 630 million pounds processed in 2004. The average priced paid to producers in 2005 was 72.5 cents per pound, 4 percent above the 69.7 cents paid last year. Net pounds of processed fish sold in 2005 totaled 300 million pounds, down 2 percent from the 307 million pounds sold last year. The 2005 average price received for processed fish was $2.29 per pound, up 3 percent from $2.23 a year ago. Inventory on hand at the end of 2005 totaled 13.7 million pounds, a decrease of 10 percent from the 15.2 million pounds on hand at the close of 2004. Farm-Raised Catfish: Quantity Processed by Major Processors, United States, 2005-2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Round Weight Processed : :-----------------------------------------------------------: Percent Month : Monthly :Percent of : Cumulative : of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2005 : 2006 : Year : 2005 : 2006 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -- 1,000 Pounds -- Percent -- 1,000 Pounds -- Percent : Jan : 53,856 49,666 92 53,856 49,666 92 Feb : 51,720 105,576 Mar : 57,117 162,693 Apr : 50,306 212,999 May : 51,552 264,551 Jun : 49,626 314,177 Jul : 47,241 361,418 Aug : 50,686 412,104 Sep : 47,151 459,255 Oct : 49,034 508,289 Nov : 46,674 554,963 Dec : 45,707 600,670 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Farm-Raised Catfish: Prices Paid to Producers by Processors and Imports, United States, 2005-2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Price per : Change : : Percent Month : Pound 1/ : from : Imports 2/ : of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2005 : 2006 : Year : 2004 : 2005 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- Dollars ---- Dollars 1,000 Pounds Percent : Jan : 0.725 0.726 0.001 215 1,383 643 Feb : 0.731 204 1,230 603 Mar : 0.733 295 1,161 394 Apr : 0.725 328 2,198 670 May : 0.722 248 2,695 1,087 Jun : 0.721 270 2,538 940 Jul : 0.723 123 2,048 1,665 Aug : 0.724 1,637 2,684 164 Sep : 0.724 1,801 2,219 123 Oct : 0.724 1,104 4,062 368 Nov : 0.724 1,579 4,648 294 Dec : 0.726 1,420 3,239 228 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 2005-2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Sales : Average : Ending : Volume : Price : Inventory Item :--------------------------------------------------------- : 2005 : 2006 : 2005 : 2006 : 2005 : 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Dollars per Pound 1,000 Pounds : Fresh Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 1,155 1,512 1.25 1.14 * * Whole Dressed : 1,956 1,683 1.83 1.83 * * Total : 3,111 3,195 1.64 1.53 211 226 : Other : Steaks : 104 90 2.12 2.14 * * Nuggets : 948 848 1.27 1.26 117 158 Other 1/ : 248 188 3.02 3.09 * * Total : 1,300 1,126 1.67 1.64 137 174 : Fillets 2/ : 5,274 5,160 2.81 2.86 513 622 : Total Fresh : 9,685 9,481 2.28 2.27 861 1,022 : Frozen Fish : Whole Dressed : 1,116 1,154 1.97 2.00 724 964 : Other : Steaks : 194 121 1.71 2.04 73 104 Nuggets : 3,209 3,398 1.00 0.91 1,653 1,523 Other 1/ : 1,382 1,497 2.80 2.58 966 1,316 Total : 4,785 5,016 1.55 1.44 2,692 2,943 : Fillets 2/ : 10,618 11,238 2.66 2.67 10,368 8,452 : Total Frozen : 16,519 17,408 2.29 2.27 13,784 12,359 : Fresh & Frozen Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 1,155 1,512 1.25 1.14 * * Whole Dressed : 3,072 2,837 1.88 1.90 * * Total : 4,227 4,349 1.73 1.65 935 1,190 : Other : Steaks : 298 211 1.85 2.08 * * Nuggets : 4,157 4,246 1.06 0.98 1,770 1,681 Other 1/ : 1,630 1,685 2.83 2.64 * * Total : 6,085 6,142 1.57 1.47 2,829 3,117 : Fillets 2/ : 15,892 16,398 2.71 2.73 10,881 9,074 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 26,204 26,889 2.29 2.27 14,645 13,381 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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, 2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Whole Fish : Other : : :-------------------------------------------------------: : Month : Rnd & : : : : : : :Fillets: Total :Gutted : Whole : Total :Steaks :Nuggets: Other : Total : 2/ : Sales : Only :Dressed: : : : 1/ : : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Fresh : Jan : 1,155 1,956 3,111 104 948 248 1,300 5,274 9,685 Feb : 1,267 1,910 3,177 97 961 237 1,295 5,615 10,087 Mar : 1,570 1,832 3,402 103 973 294 1,370 5,795 10,567 Apr : 1,404 1,534 2,938 106 915 250 1,271 4,979 9,188 May : 1,246 1,433 2,679 98 832 274 1,204 5,274 9,157 Jun : 1,291 1,474 2,765 95 771 264 1,130 4,987 8,882 Jul : 1,282 1,404 2,686 95 779 223 1,097 4,714 8,497 Aug : 1,272 1,401 2,673 95 824 209 1,128 4,998 8,799 Sep : 1,227 1,460 2,687 100 803 181 1,084 4,848 8,619 Oct : 1,004 1,542 2,546 99 839 183 1,121 5,072 8,739 Nov : 1,282 1,333 2,615 82 738 145 965 4,291 7,871 Dec : 1,404 1,380 2,784 74 678 148 900 4,209 7,893 : Total :15,404 18,659 34,063 1,148 10,061 2,656 13,865 60,056 107,984 : Frozen : Jan : 1,116 1,116 194 3,209 1,382 4,785 10,618 16,519 Feb : 1,117 1,117 108 3,068 1,677 4,853 10,469 16,439 Mar : 1,166 1,166 133 3,103 1,680 4,916 10,824 16,906 Apr : 1,141 1,141 126 2,621 1,036 3,783 10,424 15,348 May : 1,091 1,091 98 3,167 1,325 4,590 10,926 16,607 Jun : 1,008 1,008 114 3,244 1,592 4,950 10,314 16,272 Jul : 1,021 1,021 106 3,048 1,494 4,648 9,563 15,232 Aug : 1,017 1,017 110 3,321 1,598 5,029 10,491 16,537 Sep : 967 967 119 3,084 1,422 4,625 10,438 16,030 Oct : 1,068 1,068 149 3,577 1,454 5,180 10,917 17,165 Nov : 1,023 1,023 100 2,670 1,445 4,215 9,759 14,997 Dec : 1,012 1,012 93 2,746 1,141 3,980 8,940 13,932 : Total : 12,747 12,747 1,450 36,858 17,246 55,554 123,683 191,984 : Fresh & : Frozen : Jan : 1,155 3,072 4,227 298 4,157 1,630 6,085 15,892 26,204 Feb : 1,267 3,027 4,294 205 4,029 1,914 6,148 16,084 26,526 Mar : 1,570 2,998 4,568 236 4,076 1,974 6,286 16,619 27,473 Apr : 1,404 2,675 4,079 232 3,536 1,286 5,054 15,403 24,536 May : 1,246 2,524 3,770 196 3,999 1,599 5,794 16,200 25,764 Jun : 1,291 2,482 3,773 209 4,015 1,856 6,080 15,301 25,154 Jul : 1,282 2,425 3,707 201 3,827 1,717 5,745 14,277 23,729 Aug : 1,272 2,418 3,690 205 4,145 1,807 6,157 15,489 25,336 Sep : 1,227 2,427 3,654 219 3,887 1,603 5,709 15,286 24,649 Oct : 1,004 2,610 3,614 248 4,416 1,637 6,301 15,989 25,904 Nov : 1,282 2,356 3,638 182 3,408 1,590 5,180 14,050 22,868 Dec : 1,404 2,392 3,796 167 3,424 1,289 4,880 13,149 21,825 : Total :15,404 31,406 46,810 2,598 46,919 19,902 69,419 183,739 299,968 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, 2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Whole Fish : Other : : :-------------------------------------------------------: : Month : Rnd & : : : : : : :Fillets: Total :Gutted : Whole : Total :Steaks :Nuggets: Other : Total : 2/ : Sales : Only :Dressed: : : : 1/ : : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Pound Fresh : Jan : 1.25 1.83 1.64 2.12 1.27 3.02 1.67 2.81 2.28 Feb : 1.27 1.83 1.64 2.12 1.29 3.03 1.67 2.75 2.26 Mar : 1.26 1.85 1.61 2.15 1.30 3.05 1.74 2.85 2.31 Apr : 1.23 1.88 1.61 2.18 1.29 3.03 1.71 2.87 2.31 May : 1.21 1.88 1.61 2.16 1.30 3.05 1.77 2.86 2.35 Jun : 1.19 1.85 1.58 2.16 1.30 3.04 1.78 2.85 2.32 Jul : 1.20 1.86 1.58 2.14 1.28 3.06 1.72 2.84 2.30 Aug : 1.19 1.86 1.57 2.14 1.27 3.07 1.68 2.83 2.30 Sep : 1.18 1.86 1.58 2.13 1.26 3.08 1.64 2.83 2.29 Oct : 1.22 1.85 1.63 2.12 1.28 3.08 1.65 2.84 2.34 Nov : 1.16 1.84 1.55 2.15 1.25 3.08 1.60 2.84 2.26 Dec : 1.12 1.81 1.50 2.14 1.28 3.10 1.65 2.84 2.23 : Avg : 1.21 1.85 1.59 2.14 1.28 3.05 1.69 2.83 2.30 : Frozen : Jan : 1.97 1.97 1.71 1.00 2.80 1.55 2.66 2.29 Feb : 2.01 2.01 1.96 1.03 2.78 1.66 2.66 2.32 Mar : 1.98 1.98 1.94 1.05 2.81 1.68 2.70 2.35 Apr : 2.01 2.01 1.87 1.00 2.68 1.49 2.66 2.32 May : 2.02 2.02 1.98 0.93 2.68 1.46 2.64 2.27 Jun : 2.01 2.01 1.97 0.93 2.49 1.46 2.68 2.27 Jul : 2.00 2.00 2.02 0.89 2.55 1.45 2.70 2.27 Aug : 1.99 1.99 2.02 0.87 2.53 1.42 2.68 2.26 Sep : 2.01 2.01 1.96 0.89 2.58 1.44 2.68 2.28 Oct : 2.00 2.00 1.91 0.89 2.54 1.38 2.66 2.23 Nov : 2.03 2.03 2.02 0.93 2.78 1.59 2.67 2.32 Dec : 2.01 2.01 2.01 0.92 2.60 1.43 2.66 2.26 : Avg : 2.00 2.00 1.93 0.94 2.65 1.50 2.67 2.29 : Fresh & : Frozen : Jan : 1.25 1.88 1.73 1.85 1.06 2.83 1.57 2.71 2.29 Feb : 1.27 1.90 1.74 2.04 1.09 2.81 1.66 2.69 2.30 Mar : 1.26 1.90 1.71 2.03 1.11 2.85 1.69 2.75 2.34 Apr : 1.23 1.94 1.72 2.01 1.08 2.75 1.54 2.73 2.32 May : 1.21 1.94 1.73 2.07 1.01 2.74 1.52 2.71 2.30 Jun : 1.19 1.91 1.69 2.06 1.00 2.57 1.52 2.74 2.28 Jul : 1.20 1.92 1.70 2.08 0.97 2.62 1.50 2.75 2.28 Aug : 1.19 1.91 1.69 2.08 0.95 2.59 1.47 2.73 2.27 Sep : 1.18 1.92 1.69 2.04 0.97 2.64 1.48 2.73 2.28 Oct : 1.22 1.91 1.74 1.99 0.96 2.60 1.43 2.72 2.27 Nov : 1.16 1.92 1.68 2.08 1.00 2.81 1.59 2.72 2.30 Dec : 1.12 1.89 1.63 2.07 0.99 2.66 1.47 2.72 2.25 : Avg : 1.21 1.91 1.71 2.02 1.02 2.71 1.54 2.72 2.29 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, 2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Whole Fish : Other : : :-------------------------------------------------------: : Month : Rnd & : : : : : : :Fillets: Total :Gutted : Whole : Total :Steaks :Nuggets: Other : Total : 2/ : Sales : Only :Dressed: : : : 1/ : : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Fresh : Jan : * * 211 * 117 * 137 513 861 Feb : * * 170 * 107 * 130 520 820 Mar : * * 187 * 136 * 153 632 972 Apr : * * 113 * 84 * 95 368 576 May : * * 190 * 105 * 124 510 824 Jun : * * 175 * 94 * 114 495 784 Jul : * * 146 * 103 * 117 482 745 Aug : * * 169 * 133 * 144 423 736 Sep : * * 139 * 98 * 105 463 707 Oct : * * 192 * 128 * 139 566 897 Nov : * * 211 * 123 * 131 531 873 Dec : * * 90 * 86 * 89 372 551 : Frozen : Jan : 724 724 73 1,653 966 2,692 10,368 13,784 Feb : 800 800 73 1,977 692 2,742 8,911 12,453 Mar : 1,213 1,213 97 2,176 940 3,213 8,654 13,080 Apr : 1,110 1,110 132 2,026 1,004 3,162 8,139 12,411 May : 725 725 133 2,511 888 3,532 7,867 12,124 Jun : 736 736 118 2,288 898 3,304 7,784 11,824 Jul : 739 739 104 2,351 909 3,364 8,019 12,122 Aug : 682 682 109 2,039 992 3,140 8,323 12,145 Sep : 567 567 101 1,719 1,004 2,824 8,070 11,461 Oct : 538 538 89 1,245 1,014 2,348 7,674 10,560 Nov : 637 637 104 1,638 1,006 2,748 8,597 11,982 Dec : 831 831 114 1,667 1,202 2,983 9,342 13,156 : Fresh & : Frozen : Jan : * * 935 * 1,770 * 2,829 10,881 14,645 Feb : * * 970 * 2,084 * 2,872 9,431 13,273 Mar : * * 1,400 * 2,312 * 3,366 9,286 14,052 Apr : * * 1,223 * 2,110 * 3,257 8,507 12,987 May : * * 915 * 2,616 * 3,656 8,377 12,948 Jun : * * 911 * 2,382 * 3,418 8,279 12,608 Jul : * * 885 * 2,454 * 3,481 8,501 12,867 Aug : * * 851 * 2,172 * 3,284 8,746 12,881 Sep : * * 706 * 1,817 * 2,929 8,533 12,168 Oct : * * 730 * 1,373 * 2,487 8,240 11,457 Nov : * * 848 * 1,761 * 2,879 9,128 12,855 Dec : * * 921 * 1,753 * 3,072 9,714 13,707 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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 Products LLC. 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