Aquaculture for all

Catfish Processing Down Eight per cent from Last Year

Economics Politics +2 more

US - Farm-raised catfish processed during November 2008 totaled 37.1 million pounds round weight, down 8 percentfrom November 2007. The average price paid to producers was 82.2 cents per pound for November 2008, down0.3 cents from last month but 15.6 cents above a year ago.

Net pounds of processed fish sold during November 2008 totaled 16.7 million pounds, down 11 percent from the comparable month in 2007. The total end of the month inventory increased 4 percent from last month and was up 11 percent from a year ago. Sales of fresh fish, at 6.15 million pounds, were down 8 percent from November 2007 and represented 37 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 10.6 million pounds, were down 13 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 63 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 18 percent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 60 percent, and the remaining 22 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products.

The November 2008 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.50 per pound, up 23 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.70 per pound, up 14 cents from November 2007. Prices for fresh fillets were up 38 cents from a year ago at $3.31 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.61 per pound, up 33 cents from November 2007. Prices for frozen whole dressed fish were up 22 cents at $2.28 and frozen fillets at $3.07 per pound were up 37 cents from a year ago.

Freshwater imports for consumption of Ictalurus spp., Pangasius spp., and other catfish of the order Siluriformes for October 2008 totaled 7.19 million pounds, up 1 percent from the amount imported in October 2007. Imports were from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Spain, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Ictalurus spp. imports totaled 579 thousand pounds, which were from China.

Fresh boneless catfish fillet exports totaled 74.6 thousand pounds, with 42.6 thousand pounds going to Canada and the rest going to Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, St. Vincent-Grenadine, and Turkey. Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets totaled 8.0 thousand pounds going to Mexico and Singapore.

Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau.

U. S. Catfish Processed



U. S. Average Grower Price

Further Reading

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