US January '09 catfish processing down 22 percent

US farm-raised catfish processed during January 2009 totalled 35.8 million pounds round weight, down 22 percent from January 2008.

 

The average price paid to producers was US$ 0.81 per pound for January 2009, down US$0.10 from last month but US$0.15 above a year ago.

 

Net pounds of processed fish sold during January 2009 totalled 19.2 million pounds, down 22 percent from the comparable month in 2008.

 

The total end of the month inventory decreased 9 percent from last month but was up 10 percent from a year ago.

 

Sales of fresh fish, at 7.04 million pounds, were down 19 percent from January 2008 and represented 37 percent of total sales.

 

Frozen fish sales, at 12.2 million pounds, were down 23 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 63 percent of total fish sales.

 

Sales of whole fish represented 17 percent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 59 percent, and the remaining 24 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products.

 

The January 2009 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was US$2.56 per pound, up US$0.35 from last year while prices for fresh whole fish were US$1.72 per pound, up US$0.23 from January 2008.

 

Prices for fresh fillets were up US$0.40 from a year ago at US$3.30 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged US$2.59 per pound, up US$0.38 from January 2008.

 

Prices for frozen whole dressed fish were up 24 cents at US$2.26 and frozen fillets at US$3.03 per pound were up US$0.39 from a year ago.

 

Freshwater imports for consumption of Ictalurus spp., Pangasius spp., and other catfish of the order Siluriformes for December 2008 totalled 7.82 million pounds, up 14 percent from the amount imported in December 2007.

 

Imports were from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Ictalurus spp. imports totalled 2.43 million pounds, which were from China and Mexico.

 

Fresh boneless catfish fillet exports totalled 74.4 thousand pounds, with 56.8 thousand pounds going to Canada and the rest going to the Bahamas, Mexico and the Netherlands.

 

Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for December 2008 totaled 7.3 thousand pounds all going to Mexico. Import and export data are compiled by the US Census Bureau.