HDR1012000170010621961500Catfish Processing
Released June 21, 1996, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For
information on "Catfish Processing" call Jim Brewster at (202) 720-8784,
office hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. For assistance with general
agricultural statistics, information about NASS, its products or services,
contact the NASS Information Hotline at 1-800-727-9540 or E-mail:
NASS@NASS.USDA.GOV. Estimates refer to May 1995 and 1996.
Catfish Processing Up 7 Percent
Farm-raised catfish processed during May totaled 39.6 million pounds round
weight, up 7 percent from May 1995. The average price paid to producers was
79 cents per pound for May 1996, up one cent from last month and unchanged
from a year ago.
Net pounds of processed fish sold during May totaled 20.6 million pounds, an
increase of 7 percent from the comparable month in 1995. Sales of fresh fish,
at 8.18 million pounds, were up 8 percent from May 1995 and represented
40 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 12.4 million pounds, were up
7 percent from a year ago, and accounted for the remaining 60 percent of total
fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 22 percent of the total, fillets
accounted for 57 percent, and the remaining 21 percent were mostly, steaks,
nuggets, and value added products.
The May 1996 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was
$2.29 per pound, up 2 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were
$1.73 per pound, up 4 cents from last year. Prices for fresh fillets
decreased 2 cents to $2.88 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.51 per
pound, down
5 cents from May 1995. Prices for frozen whole fish were down 3 cents to
$2.00, while frozen fillets at $2.83 per pound were down 7 cents from $2.90 a
year ago.
Freshwater catfish imports and exports for April 1996 were not available at
time of this release. If available they will be included in the release on
July 24, 1996. Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of
Census.
Aq 1 (6-96)
Farm-Raised Catfish: Quantity Processed and Prices Paid to Producers
by Major Processors, and United States Imports, 1995-96
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: Round Weight Processed : Average Price : Imports
:------------------------------------: Paid to : of
Month : Monthly : Cumulative : Producers 1/ : Catfish 2/ 3/
:-----------------------------------------------------------------------
: 1995 : 1996 : 1995 : 1996 : 1995 : 1996 : 1995 : 1996
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ---------- 1,000 Pounds -------- Dollars Per Pound (000) Pounds
:
Jan : 38,807 38,475 38,807 38,475 .78 .77 61 256
Feb : 38,515 38,004 77,322 76,479 .79 .78 49 304
Mar : 42,200 46,376 119,522 122,855 .79 .78 172 401
Apr : 36,588 38,557 156,110 161,412 .79 .78 181
May : 37,030 39,583 193,140 200,995 .79 .79 384
Jun : 36,047 229,187 .79 203
Jul : 35,800 264,987 .79 294
Aug : 38,827 303,814 .79 245
Sep : 37,634 341,448 .78 402
Oct : 39,456 380,904 .78 219
Nov : 34,119 415,023 .78 35
Dec : 31,863 446,886 .78 181
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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.
3/ April data not available at time of release.
Catfish Processors: Sales Volume, Average Price, and Ending
Inventory, United States, May 1995-96
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Sales : Average : Ending
: Volume : Price : Inventory
Item :-------------------------------------------------------
: 1995 : 1996 : 1995 : 1996 : 1995 : 1996
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: 1,000 Pounds Dollars Per Pound 1,000 Pounds
Fresh :
Whole Fish :
Round & Gutted :
Only : 665 705 1.03 1.11 1/ 1/
Whole Dressed : 2,332 2,525 1.86 1.89 1/ 1/
Total : 2,997 3,230 1.69 1.73 219 200
:
Other :
Steaks : 1/ 101 1/ 2.09 6 7
Nuggets : 728 817 1.45 1.45 96 63
Other 2/ : 1/ 206 1/ 3.43 9 9
Total : 1,234 1,124 1.99 1.87 111 79
:
Fillets 3/ : 3,350 3,824 2.90 2.88 399 360
:
Total Fresh : 7,581 8,178 2.27 2.29 729 639
:
Frozen :
Whole Fish :
Round & Gutted :
Only :
Whole Dressed : 1,371 1,403 2.03 2.00 1,954 702
Total : 1,371 1,403 2.03 2.00 1,954 702
:
Other :
Steaks : 238 207 1.89 1.92 1/ 69
Nuggets : 1,276 1,804 1.32 1.43 806 825
Other 2/ : 1,826 1,163 2.62 2.80 1/ 1,066
Total : 3,340 3,174 2.07 1.96 2,190 1,960
:
Fillets 3/ : 6,877 7,847 2.90 2.83 4,656 5,052
:
Total Frozen : 11,588 12,424 2.56 2.51 8,800 7,714
:
Total Fresh & Frozen : 19,169 20,602 2.45 2.42 9,529 8,353
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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 30 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 Guidry Catfish Processors, Inc.
Amite River Industries Harvest Select
Aqua Farm Catfish Heartland Catfish
Carolina Classics Catfish, Inc. Lake's Farm Raised Catfish, Inc.
Confish Inc. Morning Fresh Foods
Corbin Fish Farm Pride of the Pond
Delta Pride Catfish, Inc. Prime Line Catfish Co.
Dorey Fish Co. Seabrook Seafood, Inc.
Farm Fresh Catfish Co. Simmons Farm-Raised
Fast Catfish Southern Farm Fish Processors
Fish Breeders of Idaho Southern Pride
Franklin Catfish Southfresh Farms
Freshwater Farms, Inc. Superior Fish Processors
GAF Fisheries
* Estimated
The next "Catfish Processing" report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on
July 24, 1996.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination
in its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion,
age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial status. Persons
with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program
information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA
Office of Communications at (202) 720-5881 (voice) or (202) 720-7808 (TDD).
To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, USDA, Washington,
D.C., 20250, or call (202) 720-7327 (voice) or (202) 720-1127 (TDD). USDA is
an equal employment opportunity employer.
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