June 25, 2007

US catfish production falls as imports grow

US catfish processing is down 9 percent as imports continue to grow, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported.

Farm-raised catfish processed during May 2007 totaled 38.9 million pounds round weight, down 9 percent from May 2006, the lowest May figure since 1995.

The average price paid to producers was 84.1 cents per pound for May 2007, unchanged from last month and 4.5 cents above a year ago.

Net pounds of processed fish sold during May 2007 totaled 21.9 million pounds, down 5 percent from the same month in 2006.

Although the total end of the month inventory fell 15 percent from last month, it was up significantly from a year ago. Sales of fresh fish, at 7.79 million pounds, were down 7 percent from May 2006 and represented 35 percent of total sales.

Frozen fish sales, at 14.2 million pounds, were down 4 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 65 percent of total fish sales.

Meanwhile, freshwater imports for April 2007 totaled 5.10 million pounds, up 63 percent from the amount imported in April 2006. Imports were from Brazil, China, Indonesia, Spain, Thailand, and Vietnam.