Citation
Costs of picking and hauling Florida citrus fruits

Material Information

Title:
Costs of picking and hauling Florida citrus fruits
Series Title:
<1971-72-> Economics report
Portion of title:
Cost of picking and hauling Florida citrus fruits
Creator:
University of Florida -- Agricultural Experiment Station. -- Dept. of Agricultural Economics
University of Florida -- Food and Resource Economics Dept
Place of Publication:
Gainesville Fla
Publisher:
Dept. of Agricultural Economics, Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
Creation Date:
1952
Publication Date:
Frequency:
Annual
regular
Language:
English
Physical Description:
v. : ill. ; 28 cm.

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Citrus fruits -- Harvesting -- Costs ( lcsh )
Citrus fruits -- Transportation -- Costs ( lcsh )
Citrus fruit industry -- Costs -- Florida ( lcsh )
Genre:
serial ( sobekcm )
periodical ( marcgt )

Notes

Dates or Sequential Designation:
-1972-73.
Issuing Body:
Vols. for <1967-68-> issued by the Department of Agricultural Economics, Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences; <1971-72-> by the Food and Resource Economics Department, Aggricultural Experiment Stations, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida.
General Note:
Some issues have title: Cost of picking and hauling Florida citrus fruits.
General Note:
Description based on: 1967-68 season.
Funding:
Agricultural economics mimeo report.

Record Information

Source Institution:
University of Florida
Rights Management:
All applicable rights reserved by the source institution and holding location.
Resource Identifier:
03583885 ( OCLC )
74641566 ( LCCN )
0093-6553 ( ISSN )

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Succeeded by:
Estimated costs of picking and hauling Florida citrus fruits

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March, 1954


Agricultural Economics Mimeo Report No, 54-13


C O ST S OF PI CK I NG AITD.HA.UL ING

FLORIDA CITRUS FRUITS,

1 95 2 5 3 SEASON



by

A. H. Spurlock
Agricultural Economist


Citrus Picking & Hauling Costs, 1952-53

Costs, Cents Per Box
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
; -- i


Oranges


Grapefruit


Tangerines


*. <,' 41.8 I

- : ..--.. *,-,,-- 34.7 -.
\"Y '*. 34.7 ^
i;. ~'9 \$ ----
r\ \~


Picking- Hauling-' Buying'
__i Selling


A Study Conducted with Funds..Provided by the
Research and Marketing Act


Department of Agricultural Economics
Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations
Gainesville, Florida


&


-1~1-1~-~-----`---~'- -~ -----


" .:-'--.. ;72.4;I










COSTS OF PICKING AND HAULING CITRUS FRUITS, 1952-53 SEASON


Introduction


Costs of handling citrus fruit from the tree to the packing or pro-

cessing plant for the 1952-53 season are summarized for 29 operators by

type of fruit. Services studied were: (1) buying and selling, (2) pick-

ing, which included delivery to the roadside, and (3) hauling from the

grove to the plant. Eleven of the firms furnishing data were citrus dealers,

specializing in the procurement and sale of fruit delivered to the plant,

and 18 were principally packers of fresh fruit or processors. Several of

the firms did not perform all types of service in 1952-53, One of the

citrus dealers did not buy and sell fruit, but picked and hauled for others

on a contract basis, and one did not pick fruit. Most of the dealers also

contracted with other operators to pick or haul some of their volume. Con-

tracting with other operators to pick or haul part or all their volume was

common among the fresh fruit packers and processors.

The location of all the firms studied was Polk County, 13; Orange

County, 5; Lake County, 4; Pasco County, 2; and one each in Brevard, Hills-

borough, Pinellas, Seminole, and Volusia Counties.

Total volume of all firms varied widely from 95,000 boxes to almost

4 million boxes. The specialized citrus dealers included were larger than

the average for their type of operation. The total volume of the smallest

citrus dealer was 200,000 boxes.

Costs of Picking and Hauling, 1952-53

The various costs of operation as obtained from the records of the

firms were not usually allocated to the services performed or to the type










COSTS OF PICKING AND HAULING CITRUS FRUITS, 1952-53 SEASON


Introduction


Costs of handling citrus fruit from the tree to the packing or pro-

cessing plant for the 1952-53 season are summarized for 29 operators by

type of fruit. Services studied were: (1) buying and selling, (2) pick-

ing, which included delivery to the roadside, and (3) hauling from the

grove to the plant. Eleven of the firms furnishing data were citrus dealers,

specializing in the procurement and sale of fruit delivered to the plant,

and 18 were principally packers of fresh fruit or processors. Several of

the firms did not perform all types of service in 1952-53, One of the

citrus dealers did not buy and sell fruit, but picked and hauled for others

on a contract basis, and one did not pick fruit. Most of the dealers also

contracted with other operators to pick or haul some of their volume. Con-

tracting with other operators to pick or haul part or all their volume was

common among the fresh fruit packers and processors.

The location of all the firms studied was Polk County, 13; Orange

County, 5; Lake County, 4; Pasco County, 2; and one each in Brevard, Hills-

borough, Pinellas, Seminole, and Volusia Counties.

Total volume of all firms varied widely from 95,000 boxes to almost

4 million boxes. The specialized citrus dealers included were larger than

the average for their type of operation. The total volume of the smallest

citrus dealer was 200,000 boxes.

Costs of Picking and Hauling, 1952-53

The various costs of operation as obtained from the records of the

firms were not usually allocated to the services performed or to the type










-2-


of fruit. Using estimates of the operator, subsidiary records, as pay-

roll sheets, or sometimes standard ratios, an attempt was made to divide

the total costs of operation into the following functions:

(1) Buying and Selling. For specialized citrus dealers this is one

of the services performed in procuring and delivering fruit to the process-

ing plant. Many different types of arrangements are made with the grove

owner as to the price of the fruit and method of measurement. Dealers buy

and sell fruit which they may pick and haul with their own crews, or they

may contract with other similar operators to pick or haul. The costs of

buying and selling fruit include salaries for management, office and buyers,

brokerage or commission, telephone and telegraph, and auto and travel expense.

(2) Picking. This is the operation of getting the fruit off the tree

and into the highway truck. As here summarized it represents the cost per

box for the operator's own crews, but not for contract crews. The principal

costs of performing this service are labor; fuel, repairs, licenses,

insurance and depreciation for the grove trucks, crew trucks, loading

machines, and other picking equipment; and management and office salaries,

(3) Hauling. This refers to hauling fruit from the roadside to the

processor or fresh fruit packinghouse. It does not include hauling in the

grove to the roadside. For fresh fruit packers it also includes hauling of

packinghouse eliminations to the cannery, this being counted as a separate

haul. This is usually a somewhat less expensive haul according to the opera-

tors, since the truck capacity is usually greater for bulk than for box

fruit. Most operators state that hauling costs are about equal for oranges

and grapefruit, but higher for tangerines because of the lighter loading

required.









-3-


The average costs per box for picking and hauling citrus fruit for

the 1952-53 season from the grove to the processor or packinghouse are

shown in Tables 1 and 2, by type of service performed, Since two distinct

types of firms are represented, the costs for each group are shown

separately.

Most of the items of cost seem to be self explanatory, but a few

comments may serve to clarify some classifications.

Labor cost is the amount paid by operators to their own crews for the

service indicated. Field foremen were sometimes paid a weekly salary, and

sometimes a per-box rate. Pickers were paid a piece rate per box, varying

with the kind of fruit and the difficulty of picking. Most operators paid

about 10-12 cents per box for grapefruit, 40-50 cents for tangerines, and

around 17 cents per box for budded oranges. The rate for picking seedling

oranges was 20 to 35 cents per box. Any condition which made picking more

difficult usually required a higher picking rate. Loaders transfer the

boxes of picked fruit from the ground to the grove truck. The boxes may be

set on the truck floor, or poured into the truck body, depending upon the

disposition intended for the fruit. Loaders were paid a piece rate per

box usually 2 1/2 to 4 cents per box.

Several different methods of handling fruit in the grove were in use.

Some operators used a tractor and 10-box baskets to load the fruit directly

into the highway truck, and one operator used a tractor and carts instead

of grove trucks. These innovations eliminate the loaders and make the aver-

age rates shown for loading less per box than they would have been had all

used the hand loading method.










Table l.--Average Costs Per Box for Picking and Hauling Citrus Fruit,1952-53 Season.

Citrus Dealers Specializing in Buying and Selling, Picking and Hauling.



:Buying Picking All Operationss
tem : ad Hauli Buying & Sel&ng
s:Hauling :: Picking & Hauling
:Selling: :Oranges:Grape- Tange- rg rape
C-: Oranges:Grape-;Tange-
: : : :fruit :rines fn ie
Number of Operators : 9 :11 : 10 : 10 : 2

Average Volume-Boxes:838,311:520,473:326,530: 98,328: 4,294 :

Cost per Box cents
Labor:
Field foremen 1.57 1.14 1.60 1.57 1.14 1.60
Pickers 17.48 12.07 40.00 17.48 12,07 40.00
Loaders 2.08 2.14 2.98 2.08 2.14 2.98
Grove drivers 1.63 1.29 1.39 1.63 1.29 1.39
Highway drivers 1.99 1.99 1.99 1.99
Mechanics .02 .34 .12 .10 .01 .48 .46 .37
Other labor .02 .14 .15 .15 .80 .31 .31 .96
Total .04 2.47 23.03 16.89 46.78 25.54 19.40 49.29
Workmen's comp. ins. .01 .05 .43 .36 .38 .49 .42 .44
Payroll taxes .02 .03 .03 .12 .05 .05 .14
Total labor .05 2.54 23.49 17.28 47.28 26.08 19.87 49.87


Other Costs:
Gasoline, oil, grease .09 1.69 .51 .58 .30 2.29 2.36 2.08
Repairs .09 2.29 .82 .66 .94 3.20 3.04 3.32
Licenses & taxes .01 .24 .08 .07 .01 .33 .32 .26
Depreciation .13 .94 .55 .33 .13 1.62 1.40 1.20
Insurance .03 .30 .12 .11 .01 .45 .44 .34
Interest .02 .03 .03 .02 ,08 .07 .05
Salaries,-Management .67 .81 1.09 .91 .56 2.57 2.39 2.04
Salaries-Office .17 .24 .29 .27 .49 .70 .68 .90
Salaries-Buyers .37 .37 .37 .37
Brokerage & commission.60 .60 .60 .60
Supplies & shop expense .07 .32 .37 .07 .39 .44 .14
Office supplies & exp..02 .03 .04 .04 ,01 .09 .09 .06
Telephone & telegraph .20 .04 .04 .04 .04 .28 .28 .28
Lights, water, power .01 .02 .02 .02 .05 .05 .03
Equipment rental .17 .02 .01 .01 .19 .18 .18
Travel & auto expense .38 ,04 .05 .05 .47 .47 .42
Miscellaneous expense .18 .18 .35 .36 .22 .71 .72 .58

Total other costs 2.97 7.09 4.33 3.84 2.79 14.89 13.90 12.85'

Total Costs 3,02 9.63 27.82 21.12 60.07 40.47 33.77 62.72

* Less than ,005 cents.


-4-







-5-


Table 2.--Average Costs Per Box of Picking and Hauling Citrus Fruits,1952-53 Season,

Fresh Fruit Packinghouses and Processors.



: :P g : Total
: Picking : Picking &,Hauling
Item Hauling:Oranges: Grape- : Tange- :oranges: Grape--: 'Range-
; : fruJtt j rines :s : fruit i rines
Number of Operators 18 : 16 : 16 = 16

Average Volume boxes 663,374409,123 208,936 : 30,857:


Labor: Cost per Box Cents
Field foremen 1.91 1.69 2,67 1.91 1.69 2.67
Pickers 18.29 12.16 44.58 18.29 12.16 44.58
Loaders 3.25 3.08 4.14 3.25 3.08 4.14
Grover drivers 1.35 1.10 1.87 1.35 1,10 1.87
Highway drivers 2.76 2.76 2.76 2.76
Mechanics .29 .11 .12 .09 .40 .41 .38
Other labor .01 .04 .17 .07 .05 .18 .08
Total 3.06 24.95 18.32 53.42 28.01 21,38 56.48
Workmen's oomp. insurance .06 .47 .32 .95 .53 .38 1.01
Payroll taxes .08 .16 .11 .39 24 .19 .47
Total labor 3.20 25.58 18.75 54.76 28.78 21.95 57.96


Other Costs:
Gasoline, oil,grease 1.81 .48 .38 .36 2.29 2.19 2.17
Repairs 2.14 1.76 1.59 1.90 3.90 3.73 4.04
Licenses & taxes .29 .09 .06 .15 .38 .35 .44
Depreciation 1.56 .71 .37 .87 2.27 1.93 2.43
Insurance .26 .09 .05 .11 .35 .31 .37
Interest .01 .01 .01 .01 .02 .02 .02
Salaries-Management ,23 .44 .58 .86 .67 .81 1.09
-Office .04 04 .05 .05 .08 .09 .09
Supplies-& shop expense .04 .18 .17 .19 .22 .21 .23
Office supplies .02 .05 .02 .04 .07 .04 ,06
Telephone & telegraph .01 .02 .01 .03 .03 .02 .04
Lights, water, power .* .01 ,01
Equipment rental .09 .06 .02 .02 .15 .11 .11
Travel & auto expense .02 .09 .05 .17 .11 .07 .19
Miscellaneous expense .03 .17 .13 .25 .20 .16 .28

Total Other Costs 6.55 4.19 3.49 5.02 10.74 10.04 11.57

Total Costs 9.75 29.77 22.24 59.78 39.52 31.99 69,53


Less than .005 cents.












Grove drivers were usually paid on an hour-basis. In a few cases

the foreman drove the grove truck. Highway drivers were paid a weekly

wage in most cases. Their function was to drive the large trucks from the

roadside to the citrus packing or processing plant. Mechanics or shop em-

ployees were used by some, but not all operators, to keep trucks and other

equipment in repair. Other labor includes workers such as testers, cooks,

watchmen, yard and scalehouse labor, and crew truck drivers.

Workmen's Compensation insurance and payroll taxes were added to the

amounts paid workers to determine the total direct labor costs.

Gasoline, oil and grease cost was the amount consumed by grove and

crew trucks, loading machines, highway trucks and in some cases by buyers'

cars.

Repairs covered the same items as above, and in addition field box

repair and replacement, and sometimes building repairs.

Licenses and taxes were principally the truck and auto licenses, but

also included business bonds or licenses and taxes on any property used in

the business.

Depreciation is the allowance to cover the estimated wear and tear on

the firm's physical assets, The total amount of depreciation was calculated

by the firm's accountants in most cases.

Interest is the amount paid for the use of borrowed capital. Very few

of the firms paid any considerable amount of interest, indicating that they

were furnishing most of the capital required to operate the business. No

charge for the owner's capital is included in Tables 1 and 2.

Salaries were paid to management, office employees, and fruit buyers

where employed by the firm. Some of the citrus dealers were partnerships









-7-


and individual proprietorships and had no paid management this function

being performed by the entrepreneurs. In these cases the owner was asked

to estimate the value of his labor and management. If only the paid manage-

ment costs had been included the per-box costs of management for dealers

(Table 1) would have been as follows:


Management
Paid per Box

Buying & Selling .20 cents
Picking oranges .23 cents
grapefruit .14 cents
tangerines .56 cents
Hauling .27 cents



However, this procedure would have left some citrus dealers with no manage-

ment expense, as compared with other firms where management was fully paid.

All management salaries shown for packinghouses were actually paid though

a number of such firms did not allocate any of their management or office

salaries to picking and hauling operations.

Brokerage or commission was sometimes paid on the sale of, or procure-

ment of, fruit by other-buyers.

Supplies and shop expense include pickers' tickets, and various supplies

and shop tools anc materials not easily classified with some other expense*

Office supplies and expense include stationery, postage, bank charges,

depreciation and insurance on office equipment.

Telephone and telegraph was used principally in buying and selling of

fruit, but a portion was-allocated to picking and hauling also.

Lights, water and power expense included the office consumption and

sometimes power for graders or fruit elevators.









-8-


A few firms rented equipment of various kinds for a part of their

operations.

Travel and auto expense was incurred mainly in the buying and selling

of fruit, but also some in supervising the picking crews and fruit hauling.

Some firms paid a mileage rate for autos used, while some owned the cars

and supplied fuel, repairs, etc.

Miscellaneous expense included a great many items, some of which were

sizeable sums for a few firms but averaged small amounts for all. This

group is made up of advertising, public relations expense, dues, subscrip-

tions, donations, drivers' expense accounts, expense in connection with em-

ployment of labor from the British West Indies, business bad debts, fines,

legal and auditing and many unclassified items of expense.

The average cost of buying and selling citrus fruits for 1952-53

averaged 3.02 cents per box for nine dealers (Table 1). The average volume

was 838,311 boxes. The principal items of cost for providing this service

were buyers' salaries and commissions, management costs, auto and travel ex-

pense and telephone and telegraph.

Buying and selling unpacked fruit is not a normal function of fresh

fruit packinghouses and no cost is shown for them in Table 2. Some of the

packers did have fruit procurement costs.

Hauling costs for 11 citrus dealers with an average volume of 520,473

boxes were 9.63 cents per box for 1952-53. Total costs varied from 5.71 cents

to 11.46 cents per box (Table 1). Eighteen packinghouses operating their own

trucks had an average cost of 9.75 cents per box. The variation in cost was

from 6.82 cents to 12.72 cents per box (Table 2). The average volume for the

packinghouses was 663,374 boxes. Hauling cost per box does not appear to











be related to total volume hauled. It is perhaps affected more by the volume

per truck owned, and by average distance of haul, as well as by the proportion

of box fruit and tangerines hauled. Based on estimates of operators and a

few records of actual loadings obtained in 1951-52, grapefruit cost 9 percent

less, and tangerines 38 percent more to haul than oranges.

Picking costs as shown in Tables 1 and 2 include all amounts paid for

direct labor for picking and delivering to the roadside, grove truck expense

and a portion of overhead and management expenses, Picking labor was allocated

to the various types of fruit from payroll analyses and piece rates insofar

as possible* Fuel and repair were prorated on a box-basis. Certain over-

head expenses, in particular those vhich tend to be fixed, were distributed

between the several types of fruit in the inverse ratio of the usual number

of boxes picked per day by a picker. The average of these estimates by

operators placed two thirds as much overhead per box on grapefruit and twice

as much on tangerines as on oranges.

Total picking costs for 10 citrus dealers averaged 27.82 cents per

box for oranges and 21.12 cents for grapefruit (Table 1). Costs varied from

23.20 cents to 30.62 cents per box for oranges, and from 15.83 cents to 22.67

cents per box for grapefruit. Only two of these operators picked tangerines

with their own crews. The average cost per box for picking tangerines was

50.07 cents. Labor, including workmen's compensation insurance and payroll

taxes, was the largest item of cost in picking fruit being 84 percent of

the total for oranges, 82 percent for grapefruit and 94 percent for

tangerines..

For 16 packinghouses which operated their own crews, total picking costs

for oranges were 29.77 cents per box. The variation per box was 24.69 cents









-10-


to 44.47 cents. However, only one firm had costs over 34.50 cents. Grape-

fruit picking costs totaled 22.44 cents per box, ranging from 19.20 cents

to 28.28 cents. Total picking costs for tangerines averaged 59.78 cents.

As with the citrus dealers, the principal picking costs of the fresh fruit

packinghouses were labor, gas and oil, repairs, licenses, insurance and de-

preciation. These items were usually complete in the records of the packing-

houses, but some of the smaller overhead items were not complete. Frequently

such items as telephone, office expense, lights and water, interest, manage-

ment and office salaries were charged entirely to the packing operation and

none allocated to picking and hauling. This is simpler and perhaps just as

satisfactory from the packinghouse viewpoint, but when considering the pick-

ing and hauling as a separate enterprise, it results in some of the overhead

costs being slightly understated.

The last three columns of Table 1 show for citrus dealers the combined

average costs for the complete operation of moving fruit from the tree to

the cannery, which includes buying and selling, picking, and hauling.

Oranges cost 40,47 cents per box, grapefruit 33.77 cents, and tangerines

62.72 cents from tree to cannery.

For fresh fruit packinghouses, the last section of Table 2 shows the

combined costs of picking and hauling each type of fruit for 1952-53. Since

packinghouses do not normally have buying and selling costs for unpacked

fruit this section of Table 2 is not comparable with the last section of

Table 1.

Many citrus firms, both dealers end packers, contract with other opera-

tors to pick or haul, or both. Contract picking and hauling was separated

from the firm's own crews. Rates or amounts paid contractors are not shown









-11-


because of the difficulty of determining the exact service performed

(picking or hauling) and the kind of fruit.


Capital Investment


Capital invested in the various physical assets required to pick and

haul citrus fruit by 18 firms is shown in Table 3. The average volume per

firm was 840,737 boxes volume here being taken as the total number of

boxes on which any service was performed. The firms included eight citrus

dealers and 10 fresh fruit packers.

Total book value of investment per firm averaged '48,934, or $58.20

per 1,000 boxes handled. Of this 5 percent was in land and buildings,

75 percent in automotive equipment, 18 percent in boxes, ladders, loaders

and other miscellaneous equipment, and 2.4 percent was in office furniture

and equipment. The cost of the above equipment averaged $95,981 per firm

or was 49 percent depreciated. On the basis of volume handled the total

investment per 1,000 boxes did not differ greatly between the dealers and

Table 3.--Average Capital Invested in Citrus Picking and Hauling Equipment,
18 Firms, 1952-53,


: Average Investment (Book Valuel_/
:Per Firm:Per 1,000 Boxes Handled2/: Percent
Land and buildings $ 2,428 $ 2.89 5.0
Autos, trucks, trailers 36,683 43.63 75.0
Boxes, ladders, other equipment 8,635 10.27 17.6
Office furniture and fixtures 1,188 1.41 2,4

Total $48,934 $58.20 100.0
J Cost of all equipment owned was $95,981 per firm, Value of some of the as-
sets was not completely obtained. Land and buildings, office fixtures and
field boxes were often not given, and should therefore represent a larger
proportion of the total.
2/ Volume on which any service was performed-buying and selling, picking, haul-
ing or any combination. The average volume per firm on this basis was
840,737 boxes.












packers. The packers, however, had much more investment in field boxes

than dealers and their records often did not have land and buildings or

office furniture. These items were classified among packinghouse assets.

If only the more intensive operations of picking and hauling are con-

sidered (omitting the volume of buying and selling), the capital invested

directly in trucks and trailers, boxes and ladders amounted to $65.12 per

1,000 boxes picked and hauled. On this basis of comparison the packers

averaged 38 percent more volume per firm than the dealers, and had 37 per-

cent more invested per 1,000 boxes picked and hauled ($52.64 for dealers and

$72.36 for packers).

None of the costs in Tables 1 and 2 includes interests on capital in-

vested in picking and hauling equipment. Interest paid by the firms for the

use of borrowed capital is included, though very few had interest expense.

If interest at 5 percent were included on the book value of the operator's

capital it would amount to .32 cents per box picked and hauled.


Variation in Cost Between Firms


Total cost varied rather widely between firms for providing the

same service. These variations in total cost are shown in Tables 4,5 and 6.

Not enough is known about the individual firm's operations to provide much

information about reasons for costs being high or low. Costs do not seem

to be related to the total volume of the firm. In fact some of the smaller

operators had relatively low costs.










-13-


Table 4.--Variation in Total Cost Per Box for 26
Firms Picking Oranges and Grapefruit,
and 18 Firms Picking Tangerines,
1952-53 Season.

Citrus Dealers and Packers

Total Cost Per Box : COr.anges : Grapefruit: Tangerines


(Cents)
15 18.99
19 22.99
23 26.99
27 30.99
31 34.99
35 and over


Number of Firms
3
17
5


Under 50.00
50 55.99 4
56 61.99 5
62 67.99 6
68 73.99 2

Total Number of Firms 26 26 18

Average Cost Per Box 29,12 / 21.98 j 59.62 /



Table 5.--Variation in Total Cost Per Box for Hauling
Citrus Fruit from Grove to Cannery, 29 Firms,
1952-53 Season.

Citrus Dealers and Packers
Cost Per Box Number of Firms

(Cents) Number
4 5.99 1
6 7.99 4
8 9.99 10
10 11.99 12
12 13.99 2

Total Number of Firms 29


Average Cost Per Box 9.71 /










-14-


Table 6.--Variation in Total Cost Per Box for Picking
and Hauling Citrus, 1952-53 Season.l/

Citrus Dealers and Packers
Total Cost Per Box s Oranges ,' Grapefruit: Tangerines

(Cents) Number of Firms
24 29.99 10
30 35.99 8 13
36 41.99 13 2
42 47.99 3
48 53,99 1

60 65.99 2
66 71,99 5
72 77.99 7
78 83.99 3

Total Number of Firms 25 25 17

Average Cost Per Box 38.83 / 31.69 % 69.33 i


Citrus dealers had an additional cost of buying and
selling fruit averaging 3.02 cents per box which is
not included above.


Comparison of 1952-53 Costs with Previous Seasons


Total picking and hauling costs for 1952-53 were not much different

from the averages in 1951-52 (Table 7). Tangerine costs fluctuated most,

but not all operators picked tangerines, and very few of the citrus

dealers picked them with their own crews. Grapefruit costs averaged

higher in 1952-53 than in the preceding season.

In 1952-53 more of the firms from vhom data were obtained were

fresh fruit packers than in 1951-52.


I/









-15-


Table 7.--Comparison of Total Costs for Buying and Selling, Picking and Hauling
Citrus FruitTgThree Seasons.


:Citrus Dealers Citrus Dealers and Packeral/
; Only :
: 91950-51-52 : 1952-53
:No. of : Costs-:No. of : Costs-No of : Costs-
Operation :Opera- : Cents :Opera- : Cents :Opera- : Cents
:tors :Per Box:tors :Per Box:tors :Per Box
Buying and selling 7 3.84 13 3.37' 9 3,02
Hauling 9 10.31 24 9.81 29 9.71
Picking oranges 8 28.36 24 28,42 26 29,12
grapefruit 8 18.62 24 19.51 26 21.98
tangerines 4 56.93 15 61.93 18 59,62
All operations: (Buying, selling,
picking and hauling/)
Oranges 42.51 41.60 41.85
Grapefruit 32.77 32.69 34.71
Tangerines 71.08 75.11 72.35

j See Tables 1 and 2 for itemized cost for citrus dealers and for packers.
SIncludes buying and selling cost for citrus dealers. This cost not incurred
by packers.


AHSn :m- 3/26/54
Exp.soa*, Ag. Ec. 500