Catfish Processing Down 4 Percent from Last Year
Farm-raised catfish processed during July 2006 totaled 45.6 million pounds round weight, down 4 percent
from July 2005. The average price paid to producers was 81.2 cents per pound for July 2006, up 0.5 cents
from last month and 8.9 cents above a year ago.
Net pounds of processed fish sold during July 2006 totaled 22.1 million pounds, down 7 percent from the
comparable month in 2005. The total end of the month inventory increased 17 percent from last month, but
was down 33 percent from a year ago. Sales of fresh fish, at 7.86 million pounds, were down 8 percent from
July 2005 and represented 36 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 14.2 million pounds, were down
7 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 64 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish
represented 17 percent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 62 percent, and the remaining 21 percent
were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products.
The July 2006 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.53 per pound, an increase of
23 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.72 per pound, up 14 cents from last year. Prices
for fresh fillets were up 34 cents at $3.18 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.60 per pound, up 33 cents
from July 2005. Prices for frozen whole fish were up 24 cents at $2.24 and frozen fillets at $3.01 per pound
were up 31 cents from a year ago.
Freshwater imports of Ictalurus spp., Pangasius spp., and other catfish of the order Siluriformes for
June 2006 totaled 4.42 million pounds, up 74 percent from the amount imported last year. Imports were from
Cambodia, China, China-Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Spain, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Ictalurus spp.
imports totaled 909 thousand pounds, which were all from China.
Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for June 2006 totaled 12.5 thousand pounds, of which
7.1 thousand pounds went to Canada and the rest to Argentina and Japan. Fresh fillet exports totaled
49.7 thousand pounds, with 34.3 thousand pounds going to Canada and the rest to Equatorial Guinea, the
Netherlands, and 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)
TheFishSite News Desk