Catfish Processing Down 14 Percent
Farm-raised catfish processed during April 2006 totaled 43.2 million pounds round weight, down
14 percent from April 2005. The average price paid to producers was 78.5 cents per pound for April
2006, up 4.0 cents from last month and 6.0 cents above a year ago.
Net pounds of processed fish sold during April 2006 totaled 24.1 million pounds, down 2 percent from
the comparable month in 2005. Total end of the month inventory decreased 17 percent from last month
and was down 35 percent from a year ago. Sales of fresh fish, at 9.00 million pounds, were down
2 percent from April 2005 and represented 37 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 15.1 million
pounds, were down 2 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 63 percent of total fish
sales. Sales of whole fish represented 17 percent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 63 percent,
and the remaining 20 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products.
The April 2006 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.41 per pound, an
increase of 10 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.65 per pound, up 4 cents from
last year. Prices for fresh fillets were up 11 cents at $2.98 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged
$2.48 per pound, up 16 cents from April 2005. Prices for frozen whole fish were up 13 cents at $2.14
and frozen fillets at $2.85 per pound were up 19 cents from a year ago.
Freshwater imports of frozen, boneless, Ictalurus, Pangasius and Siluriformes catfish fillets for March
2006 totaled 3.27 million pounds, almost three times the amount imported last year. Thirty nine percent
of all imports were from Malaysia, 26 percent from Vietnam, with the remainder coming from
Cambodia, China, China-Taipei, and Thailand. The Ictalurus (channel catfish) imports totaled
388 thousand pounds.
Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for March 2006 totaled 8.65 thousand pounds, of
which 5.12 thousand pounds went to Canada. Fresh fillet exports totaled 78.8 thousand pounds, with
42.0 thousand pounds going to Canada and the rest to the United Kingdom.
Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Census.
United States 2004 - 2006
To view the full report, including tables, please click here (PDF Format)
Source: USDA NASS - Catfish Processing Report - 22nd May 2006