Catfish Processing Down 10 from Last Year
Farm-raised catfish processed during February 2007 totaled 44.4 million pounds round weight, down 10 percent from February 2006. The average price paid to producers was 83.8 cents per pound for February 2007, unchanged from last month but 10.9 cents above a year ago.
Net pounds of processed fish sold during February 2007 totaled 23.2 million pounds, down 15 percent from the comparable month in 2006. The total end of the month inventory decreased 11 percent from last month but was up 50 percent from a year ago. Sales of fresh fish, at 8.08 million pounds, were down 15 percent from February 2006 and represented 35 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 15.1 million pounds, were down 15 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 65 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 16 percent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 58 percent, and the remaining 26 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products.
The February 2007 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.57 per pound, up 32 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.78 per pound, up 29 cents from February 2006. Prices for fresh fillets were up 37 cents at $3.24 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.47 per pound, up 16 cents from February 2006. Prices for frozen whole dressed fish were up 26 cents at $2.27 and frozen fillets at $3.08 per pound were up 39 cents from a year ago.
Freshwater imports of Ictalurus spp., Pangasius spp., and other catfish of the order Siluriformes for January 2007 totaled 12.1 million pounds, up significantly from the amount imported in January 2006. Imports were from Brazil, Canada, China, China - Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Spain, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Ictalurus spp. imports totaled 4.38 million pounds, which were all from Brazil, Canada, and China.
Fresh fillet exports totaled 69.7 thousand pounds, with 56.3 thousand pounds going to Canada and the rest to Kuwait, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. No exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets were reported for January 2007.
Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau.
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