Catfish
Processing
National
Agricultural
Statistics
Service
 
USDA
Washington, D.C.
 
Released March 23, 1999, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
For information on "Catfish Processing" call John Lange (202) 720-0585
or Mike Barker at (202) 720-3243, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
ET.
 
 
 
                  Catfish Processing Up 3 Percent
 
 
Farm-raised catfish processed during February totaled 48.9 million
pounds round weight, up 3 percent from February 1998. The average price
paid to producers was 71 cents per pound for February 1999, up 1 cent
from last month, but 2 cents below a year ago.
 
 
Net pounds of processed fish sold during February 1999 totaled 25.8
million pounds, down 3 percent from the comparable month in 1998. Sales
of fresh fish, at 10.6 million pounds, were up 1 percent from February
1998 and represented 41 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at
15.2 million pounds, were down 6 percent from a year ago and accounted
for the remaining 59 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish
represented 20 percent of the total, fillets accounted for 59 percent,
and the remaining 21 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value
added products.
 
 
The February 1999 average price received by processors for total fresh
fish was $2.10 per pound, down 2 cents from last year. Prices for fresh
whole fish were $1.55 per pound, down 2 cents from last year. Prices for
fresh fillets were down 4 cents at $2.71 per pound. Total frozen fish
averaged $2.37 per pound, 1 cent below February 1998. Prices for frozen
whole fish were up 4 cents at $1.95, while frozen fillets at $2.66 per
pound were up 3 cents from $2.63 a year ago.
 
 
Freshwater catfish imports for January 1999 totaled 56.5 thousand
pounds, down 38 percent from the amount reported last January. Vietnam
accounted for 74 percent of the imports in January, Guyana 20 percent,
and Canada 6 percent. Exports reported for January 1999 totaled 5.23
thousand pounds, all of which went to Japan. Import and export data are
compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Census.
 
 
Aq 1 (3-99)
Farm-Raised Catfish:  Quantity Processed and Prices Paid to Producers
      by Major Processors, and United States Imports, 1998-99
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      :       Round Weight Processed       :   Average Price  :   Imports
      :------------------------------------:      Paid to     :      of
Month :      Monthly     :   Cumulative    :   Producers 1/   :  Catfish 2/
      :-----------------------------------------------------------------------
      :   1998  :  1999  :  1998  :  1999  :   1998  :  1999  :  1998 : 1999
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      :  ---------- 1,000 Pounds --------   Dollars Per Pound   (000) Pounds
      :
Jan   :  46,723   48,723   46,723    48,723     .69     .70        91     57
Feb   :  47,606   48,891   94,329    97,614     .73     .71         9
Mar   :  53,761           148,090               .78                99
Apr   :  49,393           197,483               .79                82
May   :  45,218           242,701               .79               208
Jun   :  46,244           288,945               .78               193
Jul   :  46,383           335,328               .76               195
Aug   :  47,739           383,067               .74               132
Sep   :  46,579           429,646               .73                21
Oct   :  47,904           477,550               .71                92
Nov   :  43,224           520,774               .70               174
Dec   :  43,581           564,355               .70                90
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/  Price for fish delivered to 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.
2/  Data furnished by U.S. Bureau of Census.
 
    Catfish Processors:  Sales Volume, Average Price, and Ending
             Inventory, United States, February 1998-99
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      :      Sales        :     Average     :      Ending
                      :      Volume       :      Price      :    Inventory
      Item            :-------------------------------------------------------
                      :   1998  :   1999  :  1998  :  1999  :  1998  :  1999
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      :    1,000 Pounds    Dollars Per Pound    1,000 Pounds
Fresh                 :
 Whole Fish           :
  Round & Gutted      :
   Only               :  1,062     1,225     1.01     1.08       1/       1/
  Whole Dressed       :  2,987     2,732     1.75     1.72       1/       1/
  Total               :  4,049     3,957     1.57     1.55      235      184
                      :
 Other                :
  Steaks              :     91        83     1.99     2.00       13        5
  Nuggets             :  1,385     1,347     1.36     1.31       89       95
  Other 2/            :    236       184     3.19     3.10        3        4
  Total               :  1,712     1,614     1.65     1.55      105      104
                      :
 Fillets 3/           :  4,784     5,030     2.75     2.71      410      420
                      :
 Total Fresh          : 10,545    10,601     2.12     2.10      750      708
                      :
Frozen                :
 Whole Fish           :
  Round & Gutted      :
   Only               :
  Whole Dressed       :  1,360     1,323     1.91     1.95      953      895
  Total               :  1,360     1,323     1.91     1.95      953      895
                      :
 Other                :
  Steaks              :    195       175     1.77     1.61      138       98
  Nuggets             :  2,140     2,061     1.27     1.18    1,040    1,430
  Other 2/            :  1,348     1,485     2.69     2.55      725      913
  Total               :  3,683     3,721     1.82     1.75    1,903    2,441
                      :
 Fillets 3/           : 11,062    10,135     2.63     2.66    5,074    6,059
                      :
 Total Frozen         : 16,105    15,179     2.38     2.37    7,930    9,395
                      :
Total Fresh & Frozen  : 26,650    25,780     2.28     2.26    8,680   10,103
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/  Not published to avoid disclosure of individual operations.
2/  Includes all products not already reported, including weight of breading
    and added ingredients.
3/  Includes regular, shank, and strip fillets; excludes any breaded product.
 
                    Catfish Processing Estimates
 
Survey Procedures:  Survey data for catfish processing are collected from
                    approximately 24 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
 Amite River Industries                   Lake's Farm Raised Catfish, Inc.
 Aqua Farm Catfish                       *Plantation Fisheries
 Carolina Classics Catfish, Inc.          Pride of the Pond
 Confish Inc.                             Pride of the South Catfish Co.
 Delta Pride Catfish, Inc.                Prime Line Catfish Co
 Farm Fresh Catfish Co.                   Seabrook Seafood, Inc.
 Fast Catfish                             Simmons Farm-Raised
 Fish Breeders of Idaho                   Southern Farm Fish Processors
 Franklin Catfish                         Southern Pride
 Freshwater Farms, Inc.                   Southfresh Farms
 Guidry Catfish Processors, Inc.          Superior Fish Processors
 Harvest Select
 
* Estimated
 The next "Catfish Processing " report will be released at
3:00 p.m. ET on April 22, 1999.
 
 
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Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, 20250-9410, or call (202) 720-5964 (voice or
TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
 
 
 
 
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