Catfish processing up 1 percent from last year
Oct 30, 2008 9:25 AM
Farm-raised catfish processed during September 2008 totaled 39.7 million pounds round weight, up 1 percent from September 2007. The average price paid to producers was 82.9 cents per pound for September 2008, up 0.2 cent from August and 13.2 cents above a year ago.
Net pounds of processed fish sold during September 2008 totaled 17.9 million pounds, down 12 percent from the comparable month in 2007.
The total end of the month inventory increased 8 percent from August and was up 5 percent from a year ago.
Sales of fresh fish, at 6.51 million pounds, were down 13 percent from September 2007 and represented 36 percent of total sales.
Frozen fish sales, at 11.4 million pounds, were down 12 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 61 percent, and the remaining 22 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products.
The September 2008 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.60 per pound, up 23 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.73 per pound, up 8 cents from September 2007. Prices for fresh fillets were up 30 cents from a year ago at $3.33 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.59 per pound, up 25 cents from September 2007. Prices for frozen whole dressed fish were up 14 cents at $2.26 per pound and frozen fillets at $3.07 per pound were up 28 cents from a year ago.
Freshwater imports for consumption of Ictalurus spp., Pangasius spp., and other catfish of the order Siluriformes for August 2008 totaled 6.99 million pounds, down 21 percent from the amount imported in August 2007.
Imports were from China, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Ictalurus spp. imports totaled 1.32 million pounds, which were from China and Mexico.
Fresh boneless catfish fillet exports totaled 62,900 pounds, with 56,100 pounds going to Canada and the rest going to Mexico, the Netherlands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Frozen, boneless catfish fillets, for the month of August, totaled 12,000 pounds all going to the Netherlands.
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