The average price paid to producers was 76.9 cents per pound for August 2009, down 0.2 cent from last month and 5.8 cents below a year ago.
Net pounds of processed fish sold during August 2009 totalled 18.5 million pounds, down 11 per cent from the comparable month in 2008. The total end of the month inventory increased seven per cent from last month and was up one per cent from a year ago.
Sales of fresh fish, at 6.79 million pounds, were down four per cent from August 2008 and represented 37 per cent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 11.7 million pounds, were down 14 per cent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 63 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 16 per cent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 63 per cent, and the remaining 21 per cent were mostly steaks, nuggets and value-added products.
The August 2009 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.51 per pound, down nine cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.69 per pound, down seven cents from August 2008. Prices for fresh fillets were down 14 cents from a year ago at $3.19 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.56 per pound, up five cents from August 2008. Prices for frozen whole dressed fish were up eight cents at $2.23 and frozen fillets at $2.95 per pound were down three cents from a year ago.
Freshwater imports for consumption of Ictalurus spp., Pangasius spp. and other catfish of the order Siluriformes for July 2009 totaled 10.8 million pounds, up 24 per cent from the amount imported in July 2008. Imports were from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam. The Ictalurus spp. imports totaled 1.85 million pounds, which were from China, Mexico and Thailand.
Fresh, boneless catfish fillet exports totaled 68,600 pounds, all going to Canada. Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for July 2009 totaled 20,500 pounds, going to Australia, Austria, Canada, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore and Sweden.
Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Further Reading
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