Aq 1 (5-06) Catfish Processing National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released May 22, 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 14 Percent Farm-raised catfish processed during April 2006 totaled 43.2 million pounds round weight, down 14 percent from April 2005. The average price paid to producers was 78.5 cents per pound for April 2006, up 4.0 cents from last month and 6.0 cents above a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during April 2006 totaled 24.1 million pounds, down 2 percent from the comparable month in 2005. Total end of the month inventory decreased 17 percent from last month and was down 35 percent from a year ago. Sales of fresh fish, at 9.00 million pounds, were down 2 percent from April 2005 and represented 37 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 15.1 million pounds, were down 2 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 63 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 17 percent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 63 percent, and the remaining 20 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products. The April 2006 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.41 per pound, an increase of 10 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.65 per pound, up 4 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets were up 11 cents at $2.98 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.48 per pound, up 16 cents from April 2005. Prices for frozen whole fish were up 13 cents at $2.14 and frozen fillets at $2.85 per pound were up 19 cents from a year ago. Freshwater imports of frozen, boneless, Ictalurus, Pangasius and Siluriformes catfish fillets for March 2006 totaled 3.27 million pounds, almost three times the amount imported last year. Thirty nine percent of all imports were from Malaysia, 26 percent from Vietnam, with the remainder coming from Cambodia, China, China-Taipei, and Thailand. The Ictalurus (channel catfish) imports totaled 388 thousand pounds. Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for March 2006 totaled 8.65 thousand pounds, of which 5.12 thousand pounds went to Canada. Fresh fillet exports totaled 78.8 thousand pounds, with 42.0 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. 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 49,145 95 105,576 98,811 94 Mar : 57,117 56,315 99 162,693 155,126 95 Apr : 50,306 43,185 86 212,999 198,311 93 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 : 2005 : 2006 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- Dollars ---- Dollars 1,000 Pounds Percent : Jan : 0.725 0.726 0.001 1,383 2,644 191 Feb : 0.731 0.729 -0.002 1,230 2,491 203 Mar : 0.733 0.745 0.012 1,161 3,267 281 Apr : 0.725 0.785 0.060 2,198 May : 0.722 2,695 Jun : 0.721 2,538 Jul : 0.723 2,048 Aug : 0.724 2,684 Sep : 0.724 2,219 Oct : 0.724 4,062 Nov : 0.724 4,648 Dec : 0.726 3,239 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, April 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 : 1,404 1,452 1.23 1.29 * * Whole Dressed : 1,534 1,488 1.88 1.93 * * Total : 2,938 2,940 1.61 1.65 113 152 : Other : Steaks : 106 121 2.18 2.29 * * Nuggets : 915 707 1.29 1.33 84 95 Other 1/ : 250 159 3.03 3.20 * * Total : 1,271 987 1.71 1.75 95 99 : Fillets 2/ : 4,979 5,077 2.87 2.98 368 352 : Total Fresh : 9,188 9,004 2.31 2.41 576 603 : Frozen Fish : Whole Dressed : 1,141 1,210 2.01 2.14 1,110 946 : Other : Steaks : 126 117 1.87 2.18 132 82 Nuggets : 2,621 2,341 1.00 1.02 2,026 1,604 Other 1/ : 1,036 1,411 2.68 2.65 1,004 931 Total : 3,783 3,869 1.49 1.65 3,162 2,617 : Fillets 2/ : 10,424 9,993 2.66 2.85 8,139 4,330 : Total Frozen : 15,348 15,072 2.32 2.48 12,411 7,893 : Fresh & Frozen Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 1,404 1,452 1.23 1.29 * * Whole Dressed : 2,675 2,698 1.94 2.02 * * Total : 4,079 4,150 1.72 1.80 1,223 1,098 : Other : Steaks : 232 238 2.01 2.24 * * Nuggets : 3,536 3,048 1.08 1.09 2,110 1,699 Other 1/ : 1,286 1,570 2.75 2.71 * * Total : 5,054 4,856 1.54 1.67 3,257 2,716 : Fillets 2/ : 15,403 15,070 2.73 2.89 8,507 4,682 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 24,536 24,076 2.32 2.46 12,987 8,496 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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 22 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 GAF Fisheries Aqua Farm Catfish Heartland Catfish Carolina Classics Catfish, Inc. Lake's Farm Raised Catfish, Inc Consolidated Catfish Co. LLC. Pride of the Pond Delta Pride Catfish, Inc Pride of the South Catfish Co. Delta Supreme Fish Processing Prime Line Catfish Co. Fish Breeders of Idaho Seabrook Seafood, Inc. Freshwater Farms Products LLC. Simmons Farm-Raised Guidry Catfish Processors, Inc. Southern Pride Harvest Select *Southfresh Farms Haring's Pride Superior Fish Processors * Estimated The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (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 USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). 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