Catfish Processing Up 3 Percent from Last Year
Farm-raised catfish processed during August 2006 totaled 52.0 million pounds round weight, up
3 percent from August 2005. The average price paid to producers was 81.1 cents per pound for
August 2006, down 0.1 cents from last month but 8.7 cents above a year ago.
Net pounds of processed fish sold during August 2006 totaled 24.0 million pounds, down 5 percent from
the comparable month in 2005. The total end of the month inventory increased 29 percent from last
month, but was down 14 percent from a year ago. Sales of fresh fish, at 8.04 million pounds, were down
9 percent from August 2005 and represented 33 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 16.0 million
pounds, were down 3 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 67 percent of total fish
sales. Sales of whole fish represented 16 percent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 61 percent,
and the remaining 23 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products.
The August 2006 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.57 per pound, an
increase of 27 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.76 per pound, up 19 cents from
last year. Prices for fresh fillets were up 37 cents at $3.20 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged
$2.56 per pound, up 30 cents from August 2005. Prices for frozen whole fish were up 18 cents at $2.17
and frozen fillets at $3.06 per pound were up 38 cents from a year ago.
Freshwater imports of Ictalurus spp., Pangasius spp., and other catfish of the order Siluriformes for
July 2006 totaled 5.23 million pounds, up significantly from the amount imported last year. Imports
were from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Ictalurus spp. imports
totaled 547 thousand pounds, which were all from China.
Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for July 2006 totaled 36.7 thousand pounds, of which
10.1 thousand pounds went to Canada and the rest to Germany. Fresh fillet exports totaled
83.0 thousand pounds, with 44.5 thousand pounds going to Canada and the rest to the Netherlands,
Nigeria, and the United Kingdom.
Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau.
United States 2004 - 2006
To view the full report, including tables, please click here (PDF Format)
TheFishSite News Desk