U.S. catfish growers continue to feel import pinch

The U.S. catfish industry - based mainly in the South - continues to take a hit from imported Asian fish. From Thursday's USDA report:

Farm-raised catfish processed during November 2006 totaled 45.7 million pounds round weight, down 2 percent from November 2005. The average price paid to producers was 83.7 cents per pound for November 2006, up 0.1 cent from last month and 11.3 cents above a year ago.

Freshwater imports of Ictalurus spp., Pangasius spp., and other catfish of the order Siluriformes for October 2006 totaled 10.7 million pounds, up significantly from the amount imported in October 2005. Imports were from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Spain, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Ictalurus spp. imports totaled 1.41 million pounds, which were all from China.

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