US catfish output decrease slightly

 

 

Farm-raised catfish processed in US during November 2009 totalled 36.2 million pounds round weight, down 2% from last year.

 

On the other hand, the average price paid to producers was 76.5 cents per pound for November 2009, down 0.3 cent from last month and 5.8 cents below a year ago.

 

Net pounds of processed fish sold during November 2009 totalled 15.7 million pounds, down 5% from the comparable month in 2008. The total end of the month inventory increased 17% from last month but was down 6% from a year ago.

 

Sales of fresh fish, at 5.96 million pounds, were down 2% from November 2008 and represented 38% of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 9.79 million pounds, were down 7% from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 62% of total fish sales.

 

Meanwhile, sales of whole fish represented 19% of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 61%, and the remaining 20% were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products.

 

The November 2009 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was US$2.39 per pound, down 13 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were US$1.57 per pound, down 15 cents from November 2008. Prices for fresh fillets were down 12 cents from a year ago at US$3.18 per pound.

 

The total frozen fish averaged US$2.58 per pound, down two cents from November 2008. Prices for frozen whole dressed fish were down nine cents at US$2.18 and frozen fillets at US$2.95 per pound were down 10 cents from a year ago.

 

Freshwater imports of Ictalurus spp., Pangasius spp., and other catfish of the order Siluriformes for October 2009 totalled 13.9 million pounds, up 93% from the amount imported in October 2008.

 

Imports were from Cambodia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam. The Ictalurus spp. imports totaled 1.58 million pounds, which were from Canada, China, Indonesia and Mexico.

 

Fresh, boneless catfish fillet exports totalled 138 thousand pounds, with 45.2 thousand pounds going to Canada and the rest going to the Bahamas, Canada, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria and Turkey. Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for October 2009 totalled 43.4 thousand pounds, going to Argentina, the British Virgin Islands, the Netherlands Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago and Vietnam.