The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is planning to buy 7.6 million pounds of domestic catfish.
In its notice requesting bids, the agency is asking for raw, unbreaded catfish fillets that will be used for the National School Lunch Program and other U.S. food and nutrition assistance programs.
Bids are due by 8 December, 2021, and the winning suppliers will make deliveries to numerous cities between February and July 2022.
The USDA has already made several significant purchases of catfish, along with salmon, pollock and other species this year. In November, the agency awarded America’s Catch in Itta Bena, Mississippi, U.S.A.-based a contract worth more than USD 3.1 million (EUR 2.7 million).
In August 2021, the USDA also awarded a contract for catfish procurement worth more than USD 2.4 million (EUR 2.1 million) to Consolidated Catfish Companies in Isola, Mississippi.
And in May 2021, the USDA awarded contracts for USD 18.8 million (EUR 16.6 million) worth of unbreaded catfish fillets and catfish strips was awarded to America’s Catch; Heartland Catfish in Itta Bena; Consolidated Catfish Companies; and Magnolia Processing in Tunica, Mississippi.
Photo courtesy of Consolidated Catfish Companies
