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HISTORIC NOTE
The publications in this collection do
not reflect current scientific knowledge
or recommendations. These texts
represent the historic publishing
record of the Institute for Food and
Agricultural Sciences and should be
used only to trace the historic work of
the Institute and its staff. Current IFAS
research may be found on the
Electronic Data Information Source
(EDIS)
site maintained by the Florida
Cooperative Extension Service.
Copyright 2005, Board of Trustees, University
of Florida
3 -1 e
;R.
Clegg Hooks
Estimated Cost of Picking
and Hauling Florida Citrus,
1983-84 Season
Food & Resource Economics Department
Agricultural Experiment Stations and
Cooperative Extension Service
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
University of Florida, Gainesville 32611
July 1986
Economic Information
Report 223
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT .......... .... ............. .......... ............ ......... ii
SUMMARY....................................................... ....
SAMPLE FIRMS......................................................... 2
DATA COLLECTED AND COST DISTRIBUTION PROCEDURES................. 2
PICKING AND HAULING COST ESTIMATES.............................. 4
COST TRENDS............ .. ................ ........................... 6
SELECTED REFERENCES.............................................. 12
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1 Estimated average cost per box for picking
and hauling citrus fruits for fresh packing
and processing, 1983-84 season.............................. 5
2 Average cost per box for picking and hauling
citrus fruit, 34 seasons, 1950-51 to 1983-84 ......... ......7
3 Relationship of picking and hauling cost to
the per-box price of oranges used for concentrate,
25 seasons, 1960-1984........................... ........... 8
4 Index of citrus picking and hauling cost,1960-61
through 1983-84 seasons (1960-61 1964-65 = 100)...........9
5 Changes in the cost items that make up estimated
total picking and hauling costs for oranges,
24 seasons 1960-61 through 1983-84
(Index = 1960-61 to 1964-65 average)........................11
ABSTRACT
Florida citrus picking and hauling cost estimates for the 1983-84
season are presented. Data used to develop the estimates were col-
lected from 15 citrus handling firms, representing 14.6 percent of
Florida's citrus production.
Orange picking and roadsiding costs in the 1983-84 season were
$1.46 per box, an increase of 11.7 percent from the figure estimated
for the 1982-83 season. Grapefruit, tangerine, and tangelo picking
and roadsiding costs were estimated to be $1.07, $2.32, and $1.94 per
box, respectively.
Hauling costs for all types of fruit were estimated to be 31.2
cents per box, an increase of 20.2 percent from 1982-83 levels.
Total citrus picking and hauling costs increased for 1983-84 in
all varieties. Total picking and hauling costs estimates for oranges,
grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos were higher by 13.4, 8.9, 8.4 and
18.8 percent from their 1982-83 levels, respectively.
Key words: citrus picking, citrus hauling, picking costs, hauling
costs, citrus.
ESTIMATED COST OF PICKING AND HAULING FLORIDA CITRUS
1983-84 SEASON
R. Clegg Hooks
SUMMARY
Florida citrus picking and hauling cost estimates for the 1983-84
season are presented. Data used to develop the estimates were col-
lected from 15 citrus handling firms, representing 14.6 percent of
Florida's citrus production.
Orange picking and roadsiding costs in the 1983-84 season were
$1.46 per box--an increase of 11.7 percent from the figure estimated
for the 1982-83 season. Grapefruit, tangerine, and tangelo picking
and roadsiding costs were estimated to be $1.07, $2.32, and $1.94 per
box, respectively.
Hauling costs for all types of fruit were estimated to be 31.2
cents per box, an increase of 20.2 percent from 1982-83 levels.
Total citrus picking and hauling costs increased for 1983-84 in
all varieties. Total picking and hauling cost estimates for oranges,
grapefruit, tangerines and tangelos were higher by 13.4, 8.9, 8.4, and
18.8 percent, respectively, from 1982-83 season estimates.
R. Clegg Hooks is an Assistant in Food and Resource Economics.
SAMPLE FIRMS
Estimates of the cost of picking, roadsiding and hauling oranges,
grapefruit, tangerines and tangelos were developed by summarizing
accounting records available from 15 citrus handling firms. Of the 15
firms in the sample, 13 were located in the Interior and two were
located in the Indian River area. Two of the firms were independent
citrus dealers and 13 were packinghouses and/or processors. The
larger firms in the sample handled fruit from throughout the citrus-
producing regions.
Picking cost information was available on 24.1 million boxes of
fruit or approximately 14.6 percent of total Florida production [4, p.
7]. Hauling cost information was available on 29.1 million boxes of
fruit or approximately 17.6 percent of total Florida production [4, p.
71. Picking cost information was provided on an average of 1.61 mil-
lion boxes per firm and hauling cost information was provided on an
average of 1.94 million boxes per firm.
Most firms contracted with other operators to pick and haul some
of their total volume. The costs of contract crews, if data pertain-
ing to them could be separated, were not included because it was dif-
ficult to determine the services performed, the kind of fruit and the
number of boxes hauled. However, for many firms, costs for contract-
ing were inseparably mixed with the information on services performed
by the firm's own crews; therefore, the averages include total costs
for contract and company crews and equipment.
DATA COLLECTED AND COST DISTRIBUTION PROCEDURES
The data supplied by most firms in the sample were accounting
information from their auditors' reports. Some auditors reports pro-
vided cost information for picking and a separate series of costs for
hauling. Other auditors' reports included only the combined costs of
picking and hauling. Only five firms in the sample provided informa-
tion by type of fruit. For those firms providing only total dollar
amounts for each expense item for picking, roadsiding, and hauling
operations, it was first necessary to allocate picking expenses by
type of fruit. Hauling costs per box were assumed not to vary by type
of fruit hauled.
In general, the allocations of expenses between picking and haul-
ing among types of fruit are based on personal knowledge of a firm's
operation or on information provided by other firms in the sample.
Quite often it was also necessary to separate a total labor figure
into the five labor categories shown in Table 1. None of the sample
firms provided information in a form comparable with that shown in
Table 1. Therefore, the validity of the comparison among types of
fruit depends on information provided by the firms that do provide
comparisons.
Distance [2], hauling methods [I], truck size [11 and other
factors have been documented to affect picking and hauling costs. The
data used to develop the averages presented in this report were not
provided in sufficient detail to analyze the effects of these factors
on total picking and hauling costs because the auditor's report for
each firm summarizes the cost results for a variety of distances,
hauling methods and truck sizes. Also, fruit delivered to processors
is handled differently than fruit delivered to packinghouses. It is
not known if the sample firms properly represent the industry
distribution of type of fruit by method or destination.
Picking costs include all amounts paid for direct labor for pick-
ing and delivery to the roadside, field truck and tractor expense, and
a portion of overhead and administrative expenses. Picking labor
costs, when not available by type of fruit, were allocated to the
various types of fruit by estimated piece rates. Fuel and repairs
were allocated equally per box for all kinds of fruit picked. Certain
other expenses, which do not fluctuate directly with changes in volume
were distributed such that the per-box costs would be in the ratio of
1.00 for grapefruit, 1.50 for oranges, 2.50 for tangerines and 2.00
for tangelos. Expenses in this group include licenses and taxes,
depreciation, insurance, miscellaneous items and administrative ex-
pense.
PICKING AND HAULING COST ESTIMATES
Picking and loading refers to all activities involved in getting
the fruit from the tree to roadside. Itemized average picking costs
per box for oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and tangelos and hauling
costs are shown in Table 1. The numbers reported in the tables are
calculated by summing the total dollars spent for each item by the
sample firms and dividing by the total boxes of fruit harvested by the
sample firms (i.e., the averages are weighted averages where the
weights are the share of total boxes harvested by the firm).
Buyers salaries, commissions and expenses for fruit procurement
and sales are omitted. Costs such as telephone and auto expenses,
which are associated with selling as well as harvesting operations,
are difficult to assign to specific operations and may still be in-
cluded in the information obtained from a few firms.
The largest item in the cost of picking citrus is labor. All
labor costs including payroll taxes and workmen's compensation
insurance constituted 76.4 percent of the total cost of picking and
loading oranges, 75.1 percent for grapefruit, 83.2 percent for
tangerines and 77.4 percent for tangelos. The amount paid the fruit
picker was approximately 63.5 percent of the labor cost.
Table 1. Estimated average cost per box for picking and hauling citrus fruits for fresh packing
and processing, 1983-84 season.
Service Performed and Commodity
Picking and Roadsiding
Oranges Grapefruit Tangerines Tange
Hauling
to
los Plant or
Packinghouse
Total Pick and Haul
Oranges Grapefruit Tangerines Tangelos
Number of Operators
Average Volume
(1 3/5 hu. boxes)
15
1,120.,09
15
336,740
14
82.194
10 15
113,843 1.938,806
Dollars per box
Labor
Supervisory"
Pickers
Loaders & Drivers
Semi-drivers
Other labor
Subtotal
Payroll taxes
Total Labor
Other Costs
Fuel & oil.
Un Repairs & maintenance
License & taxes
Depreciatlon
Insurance
Stuppli es
FqulipmPen rental
Mligratory labor exp.
Miscpel Iannore
Total Other Costs
Administrativec
Total Costs
Range in costs--low
--high
Standard deviation
aTncludes foremen.
0.1202
0.7217
0.0644
0.0000
0.0205
0.9268
0.1917
1.1185
0.0/52
0.0859
0.0036
0.0371
0.0136
0.0085
0.0332
0.0134
0.0129
0.0923
0.4837
0.0941
0.0000
0.0105
0.6815
0.1229
0.8044
0.0439
0.0830
0.0024
0.0233
0.0091
0.0062
0.0187
0.0021
0.0090
0.1711
1.2918
0.1785
0.0000
0.0162
1.6576
0.2757
1.9332
0.0427
0.0757
0.0067
0.0595
0.0354
0.0108
0.0259
0.0029
0.0220
0.2158
0.9538
0.0589
0.0000
0.0208
1.2493
0.2516
1.5009
0.0514
0.1096
0.0058
0.0443
0.0143
0.0077
0.0602
0.0067
0.0229
0.0068
0.0000
0.0000
0.0701
0.0094
0.0863
0.0176
0.1039
0.0581
0.0768
0.0071
0.0255
0.0054
0.0048
0.0024
0.0000
0.0042
0.2533 0.1977 0.2817 0.3227 0.1843
0.0918 0.0689 0.1082 0.1149 0.0238
1.4636 1.0710 2.3232 1.9385 0.3121
1.0900
1.7654
0.2374
0.7772
1.2955
0.2004
2.0407
3.3318
0.4151
1.5119
2.3920
0.3206
0.1674
0.4077
0.0642
0.1270
0.7217
0.0644
0.0701
0.0299
1.0131
0.2093
1.2224
0.1033
0.1627
0.0108
0.0626
0.0190
0.0132
0.0356
0.0134
0.0171
0.4377
0.1156
1.7757
1.3548
2.0983
0.2833
0.0999
0.4837
0.0941
0.0701
0.0200
0.7678
0.1406
0.9083
0.1020
0.1598
0.0096
0.0488
0.0145
0.0109
0.0211
0.0021
0.0132
0.3820
0.0927
1.3831
0.1779
1.2918
0.1785
0.0701
0.0256
1.7439
0.2933
2.0372
0.1008
0.1525
0.0139
0.0850
0.0408
0.0156
0.0284
0.0029
0.0262
0.4660
0.1321
2.6353
0.9666 2.2902
1.6261 3.6624
0.2471 0.4385
hAlso includes workmen's compensation and fringe benefits.
CIncludes management and office salaries, office supplies, auto travel and entertainment, interest paid, legal and audit,
advertising, dues and subscriptions, donations and telephone and telegraph.
A range of one standard deviation above and below the mean usually includes about two-thirds of the observations. Ninety-five
percent of the firms are within the range of two standard deviations from the mean.
0.2226
0.9538
0.0589
0.0701
0.0302
1.3356
0.2692
1.6048
0.1095
0.1864
0.0129
0.0698
0.0197
0.0124
0.0626
0.0067
0.0271
0.5070
0.1387
2.2506
1.6793
2.7226
0.3629
--------~------
The hauling operation refers to the transportation of fruit from
the roadside to the processing plant or fresh packinghouses. Labor,
including payroll taxes and workmen's compensation insurance,
accounted for 33.3 percent of the total hauling cost. Other items of
cost were repairs 24.6 percent, depreciation 8.2 percent, fuel 18.6
percent and administration 7.6 percent. Hauling cost for 1983-84
increased 20.2 percent from the previous season.
The combined picking and hauling costs for 1983-84 (Table 1) were
obtained by adding the picking cost for each type of fruit to the
hauling cost. Labor costs accounted for 68.8, 65.7, 77.3, and 71.3
percent of the total picking and hauling costs for oranges,
grapefruit, tangerines and tangelos, respectively.
COST TRENDS
Citrus picking and hauling costs increased during the 1983-84
season (Table 2). Total picking and hauling costs for oranges, grape-
fruit, tangerines and tangelos increased 13.4, 8.9, 8.4, and 18.8
percent from the 1982-83 season. Some of the season-to-season varia-
tion in the cost for each service is due to changes in the firms in
the sample. However, the longterm trend shows that costs have
increased steadily over the past 34 seasons (Table 2).
Orange picking and hauling costs increased relative to the deliv-
ered-in value of oranges for 1983-84 (Table 3). During the first five
seasons reported in Table 3, picking and hauling costs average 16.4
percent of the per-box delivered-in price of oranges. During the last
five-year period, picking and hauling costs averaged 26.4 percent of
the delivered-in price. In 1983-84 season, picking and hauling costs
represent 27 percent of the delivered-in value of the fruit.
Table 2. Average cost per box for picking and hauling citrus fruits, 34 seasons, 195- 51
to 1983-84.a
Picking & Loading
Hauling Oranges Grape- Tanger- Tangelosb
fruit ines
Total Picking,
Loading & Hauling
Oranges
Grape- Tanger- Tangelos
fruit ines
- - - - Cents per box - - - -
1950-51
1951-52
1952-53
1953-54
1954-55
1955-56
1.956-57
1957-58
1958-59
1959-60
1960-61
1961-62
1962-63
1963-64
1964-65
1965-66
1966-67
1967-68
1968-69
1969-70
1970-71
1971-72
1972-73
1973-74
1974-75
1975-76
1976-77
1977-78
1978-79
1979-80
1980-81
1981-82
1982-83
1983-84
10.31
9.81
9.71
9.61
9.38
9.47
9.27
11.31
11.46
11."3
11.17
10.41
12.90
13.73
11.66
11.96
10.74
13.32
11.98
13.18
13.04
13.61
14.70
15.66
15.36
15.45
17.19
18.18
19.79
21.80
24.01
27.59
25.96
31.21
28.36
38.42
29.12
28.87
28.93
30.52
31.36
33.30
33.30
34.17
34.96
33.79
39.57
43.04
43.43
46.12
46.25
54.09
57.77
61.12
64.86
70.86
82.16
91.08
84.16
85.36
94.00
105.50
120.77
123.41
133.91
139.44
130.65
146.36
18.62
19.51
21.98
20.58
20.91
21,73
23.40
24.09
24.16
25.16
26.69
25.75
28.32
31.47
33.08
37./7
37.65
41.45
42.99
46.98
48.61
52.41
59.11
69.37
67.94
69.05
73.62
82.07
90.63
93.17
102.54
99.93
101.05
107.10
56.93
61.93
59.62
60.86
64.72
66.39
73 96
75,35
74.90
83.68
83.53
81.66
95.97
100.71
102.63
107.47
113.47
118.46
120.55
129.82
124.51
140.46
147.15
158.09
158.23
157.82
174.16
185.65
188.66
218.45
208.80
217.33
217.20
232.32
38.67
38.23
38.83
38.48
38.31
39, 9 .<
S. 4 7
46.13
44.20
56.77
55.09
58-08
56.99
67.41
69.75
74.30
77.90
84.47
98.86
106.74
99.52
100.71
111.19
123.68
140.47
145.21
157.92
167.03
156.61
177.57
28.93
29.32
31.69
30.19
30.29
31.20
32.73
35.40
35.62
36.39
37.86
36.16
41.26
45.20
44.74
49.73
48.39
54.77
54.97
60.16
61.65
66.02
73.81
85.03
83.30
84.50
90.81
100.25
110.33
114.97
126.55
127.52
127.01
138.31
67.24
71.74
69.33
70.47
74.10
75.86
83.23
86.84
86.36
94.91
94.70
92.07
108.91
114.44
114.29
119.43
124.21
131.78
132.53
143.00
147.55
154.07
161.85
173.75
173.59
173.27
191.35
203.83
208.36
240.25
232.81
244.92
243.16
263.53
129.89
148.25
157.40
169.06
190.66
199.08
189.47
225.06
bprior to 1976-77 pick, load and haul costs were not calculated for tangelos.
Season
112.70
130.07
137.70
147.26
166.65
171.49
168.51
193.85
aData for the seasons prior to 1983-84 are from Hooks [5].
I-- --
Table 3. Relationship of picking and hauling cost to the per-box
concentrate, 25 seasons, 1960-84.
price of oranges used fo
Delivered-in per box Estimated per box pick Picking and hauling cos
Season ending price for oranges used and haul cost for as a percentage of
in July for concentrate oranges delivered-in price
(column 1) (column 2) (column 3) (column 4)
- - Dollars per box - - - Percent -
1960 2.54 0.45 18
1961 3.47 0.46 13
1962 2.26 0.44 19
1963 2.71 0.56 21
1964 5.25 0.57 11
1965 3.37 0.55 16
1966 2.28 0.58 25
1967 1.29 0.57 44
1968 2.76 0.67 24
1969 2.70 0.70 26
1970 1.94 0.74 38
1971 2.07 0.78 38
1972 2.91 0.84 29
1973 2.36 0.97 41
1974 2.58 1.07 41
1975 2.41 1.00 41
1976 3.11 1.01 32
1977 2.59 1.11 43
1978 5.42 1.24 23
1979 6.42 1.40 22
1980 5.16 1.45 28
1981 5.55 1.58 28
1982 6.49 1.67 26
1983 6.96 1.57 23
1984 6.62 1.78 27
a[3, p. 10A]
bFrom Table 1.
CCol. 4 = (col.3/col.2) X 100.
Table 4. Index of citrus picking and hauling costs, 1960-61 through 1983-84
seasons (1960-61 1964-65 = 100).
Total picking, loading and hauling index for
Season Oranges Grapefruit Tangerine
- - Index - - - -
1960-61
1961-62
1962-63
1963-64
1964-65
1965-66
1966-67
1967-68
1968-69
1969-70
1970-71
1971-72
1972-73
1973-74
1974-75
1975-76
1976-77
1977-78
1978-79
1979-80
1980-81
1981-82
1982-83
1983-84
91
87
103
111
108
114
112
132
137
146
153
166
194
210
195
198
218
243
276
285
310
328
307
349
90
88
104
109
109
150
161
180
207
203
206
221
244
269
280
Table 4 shows how total picking and hauling costs have changed
compared with the average reported figure for the 1960-61 through
1964-65 seasons--the base year. With few exceptions, the increases
for all types of fruit have been very steady. For the 1983-84 season,
orange and grapefruit picking and hauling costs are 3.49 and 3.38
times the levels during the base period, while tangerine costs are
estimated to be 2.51 times the base period.
Table 5 shows how the components of total orange picking and
hauling costs have changed in absolute magnitude and relative to their
base-period levels. Note that labor, the largest component, has shown
the greatest increase relative to the base period. While Table 4
shows that total picking and hauling costs for oranges in 1983-84 were
349 percent of the base-period levels, labor has increased to 323
percent of the base period. From the base period (1960-61 through
1964-65), total picking and hauling costs for oranges are estimated to
have increased 126.6 cents and picking labor costs have increased 49.8
cents; that is, 39.4 percent of the increase is accounted for by
picking labor cost increases. Labor costs have increased relatively
more than any other component and also account for a major share of
the total absolute increase.
Table 5. Changes in the cost items that make up
costs for oranges,
1964-65 average).
24 seasons, 1960-61
estimated total picking and hauling
through 1983-84 (index = 1960-61 to
Picking Labor
Other Labora
Fuel, Oil, Repairs,
Depreciation
Administrative
and other
c/box Index
1960-61
1961-62
1962-63
1963-64
1964-65
1965-66
1966-67
1967-68
1968-69
1969-70
1970-71
1971-72
1972-73
1973-74
1974-75
1975-76
1976-77
1977-78
1978-79
1979-80
1980-81
1981-82
1982-83
1983-84
18.90
19.64
22.50
24.24
26.38
28.54
29.53
33.642
37.51
38.54
.70
40.91
52.60
57.86
51.87
50.61
54.96
58.96
65.76
67.82
72.92
73.64
68.72
72.17
85
88
101
109
118
128
132
150
168
173
173
183
236
259
232
227
246
264
294
304
327
330
308
323
c/box Index
c/box Index
12.52 96
12.17 93
13.29 101
14.17 108
13.35 102
14.43 110
13.79 105
16.96 129
15.69 120
17.00 130
17.99 137
22.34 171
22.00 168
23.10 176
22.87 175
25.52 195
27.60 211
33.46 255
40.31 308
39.60 302
44.37 339
46.56 355
44.14 337
50.07 382
8.37
7.56
9.98
10.33
9.72
9.88
8.42
10.88
10.82
12.32
12.75
13.38
15.06
16.57
16.53
17.38
19.29
20.34
23.32
25.47
26.83
28.43
26.31
32.86
c/box Index
91
82
109
112
106
107
92
118
118
134
139
146
164
180
180
189
210
221
254
277
292
309
286
357
6.34
4.83
6.74
8.03
5.64
5.23
5.25
6.15
5.73
6.44
8.46
7.83
7.20
9.21
8.25
7.20
9.34
10.92
11.08
12.32
13.80
18.40
17.43
22.47
aIncludes supervisory, loaders, drivers, semi-drivers, miscellaneous and payroll
workmen's compensation.
taxes and
bIncludes licenses, taxes, insurance, supplies, equipment rental, migratory labor expense
and miscellaneous costs.
Season
100
76
107
127
89
83
83
97
91
102
134
124
114
146
131
114
148
173
175
195
218
291
276
356
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~~
~~-i--
SELECTED REFERENCES
[1] Bowman, Earl K., A. H. Spurlock, Scott Hedden and William
Grierson. Modernizing Handling Systems for Florida Citrus
from Picking to Packing Line. USDA Marketing Research
Report No. 914. Washington: U.S. Government Printing
Office, December 1971, pp.54
[2] Chern, Wen-Shyong. Determination of the Optimal Number, Size
and Location of Orange Packing and Processing Plants in
Florida. Unpublished M.S. thesis, Un"vprsitv nf TInlriia,
Gainesville, 1969.
[3] Florida Citrus Processors Association. Statistical Summary,~
1983-84 Season. Winter Haven: 1984.
[4] Florida Division of Fruit and Vegetable Inspection. 1983-84
Season Annual Report. Winter Haven: 1984.
[5] Hooks, R. Clegg. Estimated Costs of Picking and Hauling
Florida Citrus Fruits, 1982-83. Food and Resource
Economics Department Economic Information Report 214.
Gainesville: University of Florida, December 1985.
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