US catfish processing up 9% in February

 

 

Farm-raised catfish processed in the US during February 2010 totalled 41.0 million pounds round weight, up 9% from February 2009.

 

According to figures from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the average price paid to producers was 76.5 cents per pound for February 2010, up 0.1 cent from last month but 0.5 cent below a year ago.

 

Net pounds of processed fish sold during February 2010 totalled 22.6 million pounds, up 9% from the comparable month in 2009. The total end of the month inventory decreased 16% from last month and was down 1% from a year ago.

 

Sales of fresh fish, at 8.11 million pounds, were up 11% from February 2009 and represented 36% of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 14.5 million pounds, were up 9% from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 64% of total fish sales.

 

Sales of whole fish represented 18% of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 62%, and the remaining 21% were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value-added products.

 

The February 2010 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was US$2.34 per pound, down 12 cents from last year.

 

Prices for fresh whole fish were US$1.49 per pound, down 18 cents from February 2009. Prices for fresh fillets were down 14 cents from a year ago at US$3.10 per pound.

 

Total frozen fish averaged US$2.56 per pound, down 3 cents from February 2009. Prices for frozen whole dressed fish were unchanged at US$2.20 and frozen fillets at US$2.92 per pound were down 10 cents from a year ago.

 

Freshwater imports for consumption of Ictalurus spp., Pangasius spp., and other catfish of the order Siluriformes for January 2010 totalled 14.6 million pounds, up 49% from the amount imported in January 2009.

 

Imports were from Cambodia, China, Ecuador, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The Ictalurus spp. imports totaled 3.09 million pounds, which were from China, Indonesia and Vietnam.

 

Fresh, boneless catfish fillet exports totalled 904,000 pounds, with 566,000 pounds going to Canada and the rest going to China, Ghana, Nigeria and Peru.

 

Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for January 2010 totalled 264,000 pounds, going to the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, China-Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Trinidad and Tobago.