ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF THE U.S. CATFISH INDUSTRY

The catfish industry is the largest US aquaculture sector and a major economic contributor to the rural economies of the Southern states of Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi. It is vital to accurately portray the economic contribution of this industry that includes supply chain actors  such as hatcheries, feed mills, farms, and processing facilities. Economic contribution of the catfish industry in the tristate region was estimated employing the input-output (I-O) modeling approach, and the IMPLAN database and software (Impact Analysis for Planning MIG, Inc.). An analysis-by-parts approach was employed because the IMPLAN database does not disaggregate a catfish sector from other animal livestock industries with expenditure patterns that differ substantially from those of catfish. All major supply chain actors of the catfish industry viz., feed mills, hatcheries, foodfish farms, and processing plants were surveyed to obtain their expenditure patterns and output in terms of sales. The survey data consisted of 68 farms (hatcheries and foodfish combined), five feed mills, and nine processing plants in the tristate region. Standard enterprise budgeting techniques were used to convert the sales and expenditure values to coefficients to be imported to the IMPLAN model to estimate industry contributions for 2019. The direct output from the catfish industry ($1.1 billion) generated a total economic impact of $1.9 billion. The industry directly employed 4,298 people and created an additional 4,877 jobs in the tristate economy for a total employment effect of 9,175 jobs. Catfish industry spending created an indirect economic effect of $553 million in other secondary sectors, that supplied production inputs and services. The induced economic effect generated from spending by employees within the catfish industry and secondary sectors amounted to $255 million. Some of the key sectors influenced by the catfish industry are grain farming, banking and financial institutions, truck transportation services, electricity generation, equipment and machinery manufacturing, etc. The industry also generated $78 million in local, state, and federal taxes. Results of this study provide critical insights for policy-makers and others into the contribution of the US farm-raised catfish industry to  local and regional economies as well as its diverse industry interconnections.