The average price paid to producers was 82.1 cents per pound for December 2008, down 0.1 cent from last month but 17.1 cents above a year ago.
Net pounds of processed fish sold during December 2008 totalled 15.9 million pounds, down 14 per cent from the comparable month in 2007. The total end of the month inventory increased two per cent from last month and was up three per cent from a year ago. Sales of fresh fish, at 6.16 million pounds, were down five per cent from December 2007 and represented 39 per cent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 9.76 million pounds, were down 19 per cent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 61 per cent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 19 per cent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 60 per cent, and the remaining 21 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products.
The December 2008 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.47 per pound, up 20 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.64 per pound, up 8 cents from December 2007. Prices for fresh fillets were up 40 cents from a year ago at $3.31 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.63 per pound, up 37 cents from December 2007. Prices for frozen whole dressed fish were up 19 cents at $2.21 and frozen fillets at $3.07 per pound were up 32 cents from a year ago.
Freshwater imports for consumption of Ictalurus spp., Pangasius spp., and other catfish of the order Siluriformes for November 2008 totalled 6.20 million pounds, down 14 percent from the amount imported in November 2007. Imports were from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Spain, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Ictalurus spp. imports totaled 1.37 million pounds, which were from China and Mexico.
Fresh boneless catfish fillet exports totaled 123 thousand pounds, with 43.8 thousand pounds going to Canada and the rest going to Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kindom. Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for November 2008 totalled 1.20 thousand pounds all going to Singapore.
Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau.
U. S. Catfish Processed
U. S. Average Grower Price
Further Reading
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