According to NASS figure farm-raised catfish processed during May 2010 totaled 38.2 million pounds round weight, down 4 percent from May 2009. The average price paid to producers was 79.6 cents per pound for May 2010, down 0.8 cent from last month but 3.4 cents above a year ago. The quantity of process fish sold in May 2010 totaled 19.1 million pounds, up 2 percent from the comparable month in 2009.
NASS report states that the sales of fresh fish, at 7.28 million pounds, were up 2 percent from May 2009 and represented 38 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 11.9 million pounds, were up 2 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 62 percent of total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 19 percent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 60 percent, and the remaining 21 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products.
The total fresh and frozen average price for May 2010 was $2.48, down 7 cents from a year ago. The average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.44 per pound, down 7 cents from last year. Freshwater imports for consumption of Ictalurus spp., Pangasius spp., and other catfish of the order Siluriformes for April 2010 totaled
8.80 million pounds, up 3 percent from the amount imported in April 2009.
Fresh, boneless catfish fillet exports totaled 39.5 thousand pounds, with all going to Canada. Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for April 2010 totaled 28.8 thousand pounds, going to the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, and the Netherlands Antilles.
