The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced plans to purchase catfish products for distribution to various food nutrition assistance programs.
Purchases will be made under the authority of Section 32 of the Act of 24 August 1935, commonly referred to as Section 32 “Bonus Buys,” with the purpose to encourage the continued domestic consumption of these products by diverting them from the normal channels of trade and commerce.
These purchases are not funded through taxpayer dollars but are instead funded through customs receipts collected by the U.S. Government from imported products.
State Agriculture Department leadership from the major catfish producing states of Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama and Louisiana submitted a letter of support to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue regarding the request from the catfish industry for the USDA to purchase surplus catfish products through their Section 32 Authority.
“Aquaculture and catfish production is an important segment of Arkansas agriculture,” said Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward. “We appreciate Secretary Perdue’s support of this important industry and his understanding of the impact that this industry and its producers have on our state’s rural areas. This approval not only helps the industry but also helps to make sure that a healthy protein is available for food nutrition assistance programs.”
According to a recent Catfish Production Report from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), catfish growers in the United States achieved sales of USD 380 million (EUR 304.2 million) in 2017, down 2 percent from the previous year.
The top four states (Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas) accounted for 96 percent of total U.S. sales. The total food-size sales of USD 355 million (EUR 284.2 million) decreased by 2 percent from the previous year.
Sales of stockers totaled USD 4.5 million (EUR 3.6 million) in 2017, compared to almost USD 5.5 million (EUR 4.4 million) in 2016. Fingerling and fry sales totaled USD 18.7 million (EUR 15 million), up USD 1.8 million (EUR 1.4 million) from 2016.
By point of first sale, direct sales to processors accounted for 96.4 percent of total food-size fish sales, up 2 percent from the previous year. Direct sales to other producers accounted for 62.5 percent of stocker sales compared to 78 percent in 2016.
The total water surface acres used for catfish production as of 1 January 2018 was 61,900 acres, up 2 percent from a year earlier.
