Aq 1 (8-06) Catfish Processing National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released August 21, 2006, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Catfish Processing" call Fleming Gibson at 202-690-3237, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Catfish Processing Down 4 Percent from Last Year Farm-raised catfish processed during July 2006 totaled 45.6 million pounds round weight, down 4 percent from July 2005. The average price paid to producers was 81.2 cents per pound for July 2006, up 0.5 cents from last month and 8.9 cents above a year ago. Net pounds of processed fish sold during July 2006 totaled 22.1 million pounds, down 7 percent from the comparable month in 2005. The total end of the month inventory increased 17 percent from last month, but was down 33 percent from a year ago. Sales of fresh fish, at 7.86 million pounds, were down 8 percent from July 2005 and represented 36 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 14.2 million pounds, were down 7 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 64 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 17 percent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 62 percent, and the remaining 21 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products. The July 2006 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.53 per pound, an increase of 23 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.72 per pound, up 14 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets were up 34 cents at $3.18 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.60 per pound, up 33 cents from July 2005. Prices for frozen whole fish were up 24 cents at $2.24 and frozen fillets at $3.01 per pound were up 31 cents from a year ago. Freshwater imports of Ictalurus spp., Pangasius spp., and other catfish of the order Siluriformes for June 2006 totaled 4.42 million pounds, up 74 percent from the amount imported last year. Imports were from Cambodia, China, China-Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Spain, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Ictalurus spp. imports totaled 909 thousand pounds, which were all from China. Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for June 2006 totaled 12.5 thousand pounds, of which 7.1 thousand pounds went to Canada and the rest to Argentina and Japan. Fresh fillet exports totaled 49.7 thousand pounds, with 34.3 thousand pounds going to Canada and the rest to Equatorial Guinea, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau. Farm-Raised Catfish: Quantity Processed by Major Processors, United States, 2005-2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Round Weight Processed :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Monthly : Cumulative :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Percent : : : Percent : : : of : : : of : : : 2005 : : : 2005 Month : 2005 : 2006 : : 2005 : 2006 : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -- 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 42,865 83 264,551 241,176 91 Jun : 49,626 41,214 83 314,177 282,390 90 Jul : 47,241 45,582 96 361,418 327,972 91 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 Pound 1/ : Imports 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Change : : : Percent : : : from : : : of : : : 2005 : : : 2005 Month : 2005 : 2006 : : 2005 : 2006 : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 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 3,119 142 May : 0.722 0.796 0.074 2,695 3,306 123 Jun : 0.721 0.807 0.086 2,538 4,424 174 Jul : 0.723 0.812 0.089 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/ Includes freshwater imports of Ictalurus spp., Pangasius spp., and other catfish of the order Siluriformes. Data furnished by the U.S. Census Bureau. Catfish Processors: Sales Volume, Average Price, and Ending Inventory, United States, July 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 : 1,282 1,391 1.20 1.28 * * Whole Dressed : 1,404 1,325 1.86 2.09 * * Total : 2,686 2,716 1.58 1.72 146 173 : Other : Steaks : 95 77 2.14 2.41 * * Nuggets : 779 612 1.28 1.38 103 165 Other 1/ : 223 174 3.06 3.31 * * Total : 1,097 863 1.72 1.86 117 177 : Fillets 2/ : 4,714 4,279 2.84 3.18 482 581 : Total Fresh : 8,497 7,858 2.30 2.53 745 931 : Frozen Fish : Whole Dressed : 1,021 954 2.00 2.24 739 716 : Other : Steaks : 106 77 2.02 2.29 104 40 Nuggets : 3,048 2,366 0.89 1.02 2,351 2,296 Other 1/ : 1,494 1,357 2.55 2.78 909 737 Total : 4,648 3,800 1.45 1.67 3,364 3,073 : Fillets 2/ : 9,563 9,471 2.70 3.01 8,019 3,849 : Total Frozen : 15,232 14,225 2.27 2.60 12,122 7,638 : Fresh & Frozen Fish : Whole : Round & Gutted : 1,282 1,391 1.20 1.28 * * Whole Dressed : 2,425 2,279 1.92 2.15 * * Total : 3,707 3,670 1.70 1.85 885 889 : Other : Steaks : 201 154 2.08 2.35 * * Nuggets : 3,827 2,978 0.97 1.09 2,454 2,461 Other 1/ : 1,717 1,531 2.62 2.84 * * Total : 5,745 4,663 1.50 1.71 3,481 3,250 : Fillets 2/ : 14,277 13,750 2.75 3.06 8,501 4,430 : Total Fresh & Frozen : 23,729 22,083 2.28 2.58 12,867 8,569 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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. Reliability of Catfish Processing Estimates Survey Procedures: Survey data for catfish processing are collected from approximately 20 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.. However, NASS field offices are responsible for informing Headquarters of any new processing operations in their state to ensure a complete survey. 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 a 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 6 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, a 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. 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 catfish, which are compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, 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. Terms and Definitions Used for Catfish Processing Estimates: 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. Ictalurus spp. - All species under this genus, which includes channel catfish, blue catfish, and other catfish species. Nuggets - Small fillets cuts from below the rib section of the fish and usually includes breading or added ingredients. Pangasius spp. - All species under this genus, which includes basa, tra, stuchi catfish, and other catfish species. Round & Gutted Only - Fish with no processing done or viscera only removed. Round Weight - The term for a fish's live weight. Siluriformes - The scientific order which contains all families of catfish. Steaks - Cross-section cuts from larger dressed fish. Strips - Finger size pieces of fish cut from fillets and 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 Harvest Select Catfish, Inc. Carolina Classics Catfish, Inc. Heartland Catfish Consolidated Catfish Co., LLC Lake's Farm Raised Catfish, Inc. Delta Pride Catfish, Inc Pride of the Pond Delta Supreme Fish Processing Prime Line Catfish Co. *Fish Breeders of Idaho, Inc. Seabrook Seafood, Inc. Freshwater Farms Products, LLC Simmons Farm Raised Catfish, Inc. GAF Fisheries, Inc. Southern Pride Catfish, LLC Guidry Catfish Processors, Inc. SouthFresh Farms Haring's Pride Catfish Superior Fish Processors * Estimated Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. Dan Kerestes, Chief, Livestock Branch (202) 720-3570 Darin Jantzi, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section (202) 720-3570 David Colwell - Cold Storage (202) 720-8784 Fleming Gibson - Egg Products, Poultry Slaughter, Catfish Processing, Mink (202) 690-3237 John Lange - Turkeys Raised, Turkey Hatchery, Catfish Production, Trout Production, Census of Aquaculture (202) 720-0585 Sharyn Lavender - Chickens, Eggs, Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Honey (202) 720-3244 ACCESS TO REPORTS!! For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data products, and services: INTERNET ACCESS All NASS reports are available free of charge on the worldwide Internet. For access, connect to the Internet and go to the NASS Home Page at: www.nass.usda.gov. E-MAIL SUBSCRIPTION All NASS reports are available by subscription free of charge direct to your e-mail address. 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