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:
1954
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 )

Related Items

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

Downloads

This item has the following downloads:


Full Text

Agricultural Economics Mimeo Report No. 56-6


COSTS OF PICKING AND HAULING

FLORIDA CITRUS FRUITS


1954-55 SEASON



by
A. H. Spurlock
Agricultural Economist


Citrus Picking and Hauling Costs, 1954-55
Costs, Cents Per Box
0 10 20 30 40 50 60


E -I-- --- I I i TI


40.7


Oranges


Grapefruit 32.6


S 76.5
Buying and
Selling


I PickingJ Hauling/


Tangeri nes


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


Department of Agricultural Economics
Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations
Gainesville, Florida


70 80


I Picking-/ Hauling -1/


January, 1956


s~u









COSTS OF PICKING AND HAULING CITRUS FRUITS, 1954-55 SEASON


Contents
Page

Introduction ... ... .... * 1

Services Performed ... ..... ...... ....... .. .. 2

Costs of Picking and Hauling, 1954-55 . . . ... 3

Capital Investment. . . . . . . 12

Variation in Cost Between Firms .. * 13

Comparison of 1954-55 with Prior Seasons . ... ..... 16



Introduction

Costs of handling citrus fruit from the tree to the packing or processing plant

for the 1954-55 season are summarized for 37 firms by type of fruit. Services

studied were: (1) buying and selling, (2) picking, 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, sale and

delivery of fruit to the processing plant, and 26 were principally packers of fresh

fruit or processors. Most of the dealers also contracted with other operators to

pick or haul some of their volume. Contracting with other operators to pick or

haul part or all their volume also was common among the fresh fruit packers and

processors.









COSTS OF PICKING AND HAULING CITRUS FRUITS, 1954-55 SEASON


Contents
Page

Introduction ... ... .... * 1

Services Performed ... ..... ...... ....... .. .. 2

Costs of Picking and Hauling, 1954-55 . . . ... 3

Capital Investment. . . . . . . 12

Variation in Cost Between Firms .. * 13

Comparison of 1954-55 with Prior Seasons . ... ..... 16



Introduction

Costs of handling citrus fruit from the tree to the packing or processing plant

for the 1954-55 season are summarized for 37 firms by type of fruit. Services

studied were: (1) buying and selling, (2) picking, 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, sale and

delivery of fruit to the processing plant, and 26 were principally packers of fresh

fruit or processors. Most of the dealers also contracted with other operators to

pick or haul some of their volume. Contracting with other operators to pick or

haul part or all their volume also was common among the fresh fruit packers and

processors.








-2-


The location of all the firms studied was Polk County, 13; Orange County, 12;

Lake County, 4; Pinellas County, 2; and one each in Brevard, Hillsborough, Pasco,

Seminole, Highlands, and Indian River Counties.

Total volume of fruit handled varied widely between firms. Only one firm had

less than 100,000 boxes, and 10 firms had more than 1,000,000 boxes each. The

specialized citrus dealers included were larger than the average for their type of

operation. The total volume of the smallest citrus dealer was almost 300,000 boxes.


Services Performed


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 of fruit. Using

estimates of the operator, payroll analyses, or sometimes standard ratios, an at-

tempt was made to divide the total costs of operation into the following functions:

Buying and Selling. For specialized fruit dealers this is one of the services

performed in procuring and delivering fruit to the processing 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.









-3-

Picking. This is the operation of getting the fruit off the tree and into the

highway truck. 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.

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.

It includes hauling of packinghouse eliminations to the cannery, this being counted

as a separate haul. This is usually a somewhat less expensive haul than from

grove to plant, according to the operators. One of the reasons for this is heavier

loading of trucks. Most operators state that hauling costs are about equal for

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

required.

Costs of Picking and Hauling, 1954-55


The average costs per box for picking and hauling citrus fruit for the 1954-55

season from the grove to the processor or packinghouse are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

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

in a separate table. The distinction between citrus dealers and packers in methods

of operation is perhaps not as clear as it once was. Both groups commonly pull

oranges and grapefruit instead of clipping. Also, packinghouses often pick some







-4-


Table 1.-- Average Costs Per Box for Picking and Hauling Citrup Fruit, 1954-55 Season
Citrus Dealers Specializing in Buying and Selling, Picking and Hauling
S: AAll Operations:
:Buying : Picking Buying and Selling
Item : and uing .______._____Picking and Hauling
:Selling = Oranges Grape- :Tange- :Oranges Grape- ;Tange-
S.__ ruit rines :fruit rines
Number of Operators 9 11 9 : 9 2
Average vol ume-boxes 1, 272 815r922,188 477,3 51t 86,589 127, 886 .
Cost per Box cents
Labor:
Field foremen 1.85 1.52 1.93 1.85 1.52 1.93
Pickers 17.13 11.61 44.79 17.13 11.61 44.79
Loaders 2.26 1.92 2.91 2.26 1.92 2.91
Grove drivers 1;40 .84 1.54 1.40 .84 1.54
Highway drivers 1.79 1.79 1.79 1.79
Mechanics .01 .13 .11 .07 .15 .25 .21 .29
Other labor .03 .14 .05 .83 .17 .08 .86
Total 01 1.95- 22.89 16.0 52-15 24.85 17.97 54.11
Workmen's comp. ins.
Payroll taxes .07 .68 .43 1.91 .75 .50 1.98
Total labor .01 2.02 23.57 1644 54.06 25.60 18.47 56.09
Other Costs:
Gasoline, oil,grease .05 1.60 .66 .51 .71 2.31 2.16 2.36
Repairs .03 1.53 .86 .51 .95 2.42 2.07 2.51
Licenses and taxes .02 .25 .11 .07 .17 .38 .34 .44
Depreciation .07 1.33 .90 .49 1.54 2.30 1.89 2.94
Insurance .02 .37 .15 .12 .28 .54 .51 .67
Interest .08 .04 .08 .06 .08 .20 .18 .20
Salaries-Management .54 .58 .98 .58 2.89 2.10 1.70 4.01
S Office .18 .24 .41 .19 .59 .83 .61 1.01
Buyers .27 .27 .27 .27
Brokerage and commis-
sion .36 .03 .39 .39 .39
Supplies and shopexp-
ense .06 .29 .22 .46 .35 .28 .52
Office supplies and
expense .04 .06 .09 .05 .08 .19 .15 .18
Telephone and tele-
graph .18 .05 .11 .05 .08 .34 .28 .31
Lights,water, power .02 .03 .06 .02 .04 .11 .07 .09
Equipment rental .01 .07 .14 .06 .72 .22 .14 .80
Travel and auto exp. .28 .05 .07 .03 .12 .40 .36 .45
Foreign labor expense .i2 .03 .32 .12 .03 .32
Miscellaneousexpense .20 .16 .29 .15 .16 .65 .51 .52
Total other costs 2.35 6.45 5.32 3.14 9.19 14.12 11.94 17.99
TOTAL COSTS 2.36 8.47 28.8 19.58 63.25 39.72 30.41 74.08
*Less than .005 cents.










Table 2. -- Average Costs Per Box of Picking and Hauling Citrus Fruits, 1954-55 Season
Fresh Fruit Packinghouses and Processors


: : Picking


: Hauling Oranges:ape-
fruit .


: Total
Picking and Hauling


lange- : Oranges Grape-: ange-
rines fruit rines


Number of Operators
Atvier \/e Volm-V xC


. ~ 24 23 .23 19 :
1381 450. 7'20 62 219 280 550


argu'y" "'""- w"',"r"w I .v ,*li, v V*.','.J, .....
Costs per Box dents
Labor:
Field foremen 1.55 1.51 2.03 1.55 1.51 2.03
Pickers 17.26 11.58 47.21 17.26 11.58 47.21
Loaders 3,31 3.12 3.61 3.31 3.12 3.61
Grove drivers 1.57 .95 3.03 1.57 .95 3.03
Highway drivers 2.94 2.94 2.94 2.94
Mechanics .20 .08 .03 .09 .28 .23 .29
Other labor .01 .01 .02 .04 .02 .03 .05
Total 3.15 23.78 17.21 56.01 26.93 20.36 59.16
Workmen's comp.ins.and
payroll taxes .13 .67 .56 1.54 .80 .69 1.67
Total labor 3.28 24.45 17.77 57.55 27.73 21.05 60.85
Other Costs:
Gasoline, oil,grease 1.82 .51 .47 .51 2.33 2.29 2.33
Repairs 1.99 1.38 1.40 1.27 3.37 3.39 3.26
Licenses and taxes .29 .06 .04 .11 .35 .33 .40
Depreciation 1.43 .71 .37 1.35 2,14 1.80 2.78
Insurance .21 .05 .03 .08 .26 .24 .29
Interest .02 .02 .01 .03 .04 .03 .05
Salaries-Management .41 .88 .49 1.81 1.29 .90 2.22
S Office .12 .12 .09 .18 .24 .21 .30
Supplies-shopexpense .02 .08 .08 .13 .10 .10 .15
Office supplies and expense .03 .04 .03 .08 .07 .06 .11
Telephone and telegraph .02 .04 .02 .07 .06 .04 .09
Equipment rental .11 .02 .01 .04 .13 .12 .15
Travel and auto expense .04 .14 .07 .36 .18 .11 .40
Foreign labor expense .21 .10 .62 .21 .10 .62
Miscellaneous expense* .05 .23 .14 .59 .28 .19 .64
Total other costs 6.56 4.49 3.35 7.23 11.05 9.91 13.79
TOTAL COSTS 9.84 28.94 21.12 64.78 38.78 30.96 74.62


* Includes lights and water, legal and audit, advertising,
bad debts.


dues and subscriptions, donations, and


Item


_ III m .Jl i I i __ ii "r ,i i i ii


_


iIil l I









-6-

fruit, destined for canneries, by the bulk methods used by citrus dealers. A few

packers also use bulk handling methods for the fruit which is packed fresh.

The average cost of buying and selling citrus fruits for 1954-55 averaged 2.36

cents per box for nine dealers, varying from .81 cents to 4.54 cents per box

(Table 1). The average volume was 1,272,815 boxes. The principal items of cost

for providing this service were buyers' salaries and commissions, management costs,

auto and travel expense 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, however.

Hauling costs for 11 citrus dealers with on average volume of 922, 188 boxes

were 8.47 cents per box for 1954-55. This is a composite cost for all kinds of fruit

hauled (Table 1). Twenty-four packinghouses operating their own trucks had an

average cost of 9.84 cents per box (Table 2). The average volume for the

packinghouses was 831,450 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 tanger-

ines 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








-7-


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

repairs were prorated on a box-basis. Certain overhead expenses, in particular

those which 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 nine citrus dealers averaged 28.89 cents per box

for oranges and 19.58 cents for grapefruit (Table 1). Only two of these operators

picked tangerines with their own crews, and these picked only small quantities.

The average cost per box for picking tangerines was 63.25 cents. Labor, including

workmen's compensation insurance and payroll taxes, was the largest item of cost

in picking fruit, being about 82 percent of the total for oranges, 84 percent for

grapefruit and 85 percent for tangerines.

For 23 packinghouses which operated their own crews, total picking costs for

oranges were 28.94 cents per box, and for grapefruit 21.12 cents. Total picking

costs for tangerines averaged 64.78 cents per box for 18 houses. As with the

citrus dealers, the principal picking costs of the fresh fruit packinghouses were

labor, gas and oil, repairs, licenses, insurance and depreciation. These items

were usually complete in the records of the packinghouses, but some of the smaller

overhead items were not complete. Frequently such items as telephone, office








-8-


expense, lights and water, interest, management and office salaries were charged

entirely to the packing operation and none allocated to picking and hauling.

The last three columns of Table I show the combined average costs for

citrus dealers for the complete operation of moving fruit from the tree to the

cannery, which includes buying and selling, picking and hauling. This is ob-

tained by adding together the costs allocated to the separate services. Oranges

cost 39.72 cents per box, grapefruit 30.41 cents, and tangerines 74,08 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 1954-55. 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 and packers, contract with other operators

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 in Table 1

and 2 because of the difficulty of determining the exact service performed and

the kind of fruit. Contracted picking for 1954-55 cost 23.74 cents per box, and

contracted hauling averaged 11.30 cents, but the kind of fruit is unknown.

Most of the items of cost are 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








-9-


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 11-12 cents per box

for picking 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

firms used a tractor and 10-box containers to load the fruit directly into the

highway truck, and some operators used a tractor and 25-box carts instead of grove

trucks. These innovations eliminate the loaders and make the average rates shown

for loading less per box than they would have been had all used the hand loading

method.

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

man drove the grove truck. Highway drivers were paid a weekly wage in most

cases, but sometimes a per-box rate. Their function was to drive the large trucks

from the roadside to the citrus packing or processing plant. Mechanics or shop

employees were used by some operators to keep trucks and other equipment in repair.








10-

Other labor includes workers such as esters, 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 all automotive equipment and loading machines, buildings,

and in addition field box and ladder repair and replacement.

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

physical assets used in the business. The total amount of depreciation was calcu-

lated 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 use of the

owners 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 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 management costs had been included









-11-

the per-box costs of management for dealers (Table 1) would have been as follows:


Management
Paid per Box
Buying and Selling .44 cents
Picking oranges .88 cents
grapefruit .47 cents
tangerines 2.89 cents
Hauling .49 cents


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

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

management salaries shown for packinghouses were actually paid, though some 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 procurement of,

fruit by other buyers.

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

and shop tools and 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 some-

times power for graders or fruit elevators.







-12-


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, subscriptions, donations,
driversi expense accounts, foreign labor expense, labor camp expense, business
bad debts, fines, legal and auditing and many unclassified items of expense.

Capital Investment
Capital invested in the various physical assets required to pick and haul citrus
fruit by 29 firms is shown in Table 3. The firms included 10 citrus dealers and 19
fresh fruit packers.
Table 3. -- Average Capital Invested in Citrus Picking and Hauling Equipment,
29 Firms, 1954-55j1/
Average per Average per 1000 Percent of
Class Firm boxes handled/ Total
Cost Book Value Cost Book Value Cost Book Value
Land and Buildings $ 6,121 $ 4,015 $ 8.32 $ 5.46 6.5 10.7
Autos, trucks, trailers 74,727 24,972 101.53 33.93 79.7 66.3
Boxes, ladders, field
equipment 11,082 7,640 15.05 10.38 11.8 20.3
Office equipment 1,866 1,026 2.54 1.39 2.0 2.7
Total $93,796 $37,653 $127.44 $51.16 100.0% 100.0%
1/ Value of some assets not always completely obtained. Land and buildings and
office equipment were frequently included in packinghouse assets for fresh fruit
packers. Boxes and ladders were often not carried on the books as an asset.
2/ Largest volume handled, either picking or hauling. Average volume per firm
736,026.








-13-


Total book value of investment per firm averaged $37,653 or $51 per 1,000

boxes handled. Of this 10.7 percent was in land and buildings, 66.3 percent in

automotive equipment, 20,3 percent in boxes, ladders, loaders and other miscella-

neous equipment, and 2.7 percent was in office furniture and equipment. The

original cost of the total investment averaged $93,796 per firm and was about

60 percent depreciated. On the basis of book value, the total investment per 1,000

boxes was greater for the dealers than the packers. The packers had more invest-

ment in field boxes than dealers, but lower investment in land and buildings.

However, their records often did not separate land and buildings or office furniture

from the packinghouse assets.

None of the costs in Tables 1 and 2 includes interest on capital invested

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 .26 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 for picking and hauling in 1954-55 are shown in

Tables 4, 5 and 6 for citrus dealers and packinghouses combined. Not enough is

known about the individual firm's operations to provide much information about

reasons for costs being high or low. The data do not show any relationship between








-14-


volumes and level of costs. In fact some of the smaller operators had relatively

low costs.
Table 4.-- Variation in Total Cost Per Box for 32 Firms
for Picking Oranges and Grapefruit and 21
Firms Picking Tangerines, 1954-55 Season.

Citrus Dealers and Packers
Cost per Box Oranges Grapefruit Tangerines
(Cents) Numbeof Firms
1 15 17.9 2
18 20.9 10
21 23.9 1 17
24 26.9 9 2
27 29.9 13 1
30 32.9 8
33 35.9 1
50 54.9 1
55 59.9 3
60 64.9 9
65 69.9 4
70 74.9 2
75 79.9 2
Total Number of Firms 32 32 21
Average Cost Per Box
(Cents) 28.9 20.9 64.7
Range in Costs (Cents) 22.5-35.5 16.4-27.5 57.5-78.7


Table 5.- Variation in Total Cost Per Box for
Hauling Citrus Fruit from Grove to
Cannery, 35 Firms, 1954-55 Season
Citrus Dealers and Packers

Cost Per Box Number of Firms
(Cents) Number
4 5.9 2
6 7.9 7
8 9.9 11
10 -11.9 11
12 -13.9 4
Average Cost Per Box (Cents) 9.4
Range in Costs (Cents) 4.9 13.9
a -~- -CII








-15-

Table 6.--Variation in Total Cost Per Box for Picking and
Hauling Citrus, 1954-55 Seasonr/

Citrus Dealers and Packers


Cost Per Box Oranges Grapefruit Tangerines
(Cents) Number of Firms

20 24.9 1
25 29.9 1 11
30 34.9 5 15
35 39.9 14 3
40 44.9 9
45 49.9 1

60 64.9 1
65 69.9 3
70 74.9 8
75 79.9 3
80 84.9 2
85 89.9 2
Total Number of Firms 30 30 19
Average Cost Per Box (Cents) 38.3 30.3 74.1
Range in Costs (Cents) 29.8-45.2 24.2-38.6 60.9-87.6

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

Total picking costs for nine citrus dealers and 23 packinghouses varied from
22.5 cents to 35.5 cents per box for oranges, and from 16.4 cents to 27.5 cents
per box for grapefruit.
The range in cost for picking tangerines was from 57.5 cents to 78.7 cents
per box for 21 firms (Table 4).
Hauling costs for 11 citrus dealers and 24 packinghouses varied from 4.9

cents to 13.9 cents per box (Table 5).
For picking and hauling combined, costs for 30 firms, both dealers and
packers,ranged from 29.8 cents to 45.2 cents per box for oranges and averaged
38.3 cents. The modal group of 14 firms had costs between 35.0 cents and 39.9








-16-


cents for oranges. Picking and hauling costs for grapefruit for 30 firms varied

from 24.2 cents to 38.6 cents per box, averaging 30.3 cents. The modal group

of 15 firms had costs between 25.0 cents and 29.9 cents per box. Picking and

hauling tangerines varied from 60.9 cents to 87.6 cents per box, and averaged 74.1

cents for 19 firms. Eight of these firms had costs between 70.0 cents and 74.9 cents

per box.

Comparison of 1954-55 Costs with Previous Seasons

Total picking and hauling costs for 1954-55 were not much different from the

averages of preceding seasons (Table 7). Buying and selling costs per box have

declined somewhat each season, and hauling costs have shown the same tendency.

No definite trend is shown by the picking costs. The fluctuation in total costs

each season is wider for tangerines than for oranges and grapefruit. Very few of

the citrus dealers picked them with their own crews, and packinghouse crews picked

them in much smaller volume than other citrus.

Most of the season-to-season variation in cost for each service is due to the

firms included. These have not remained identical each year, and as previously

pointed out, costs vary widely between firms.








-17-


Table 7.--Total Costs Per Box for Buying and Selling, Picking
and Hauling Citrus Fruits, Five Seasons


: : l All Operations:
: No. :Buying : : Pickin Buying and Selling
Season : of : and : Hauling : c: Picking and Hauling
: Firms :Selling: : Oranges : Grft. :Tangerines: Oranges:Grft. :Tangerines
Citrus Dealers

1950-51 9 3.84 4 10.31 28.36* 18.62t 56.93 42.51t 32.774 71.08t
1951-52 15 3.37 10.19 28.33 20.41 53.06 41.89 33.97 66.62
1952-53 11 3.02 9.63 27.82 21.12 50.07 40.47 33.77 62.72
1953-54 13 2.74 9.50 29.83 19.73 62.14 42.07 31.97 74.38
1954-55 11 2.36 8.47 28.89 19.58 63.25 39.72 30.41 74.08

Fresh Fruit Packers and Processors

1951-52 11 -1/ 9.24 28.53 19.23 62.59 37.771/ 28.471/71.831
1952-53 18 -T/ 9.75 29.77 22.24 59.78 39.521/ 31.99Y69.531/
1953-54 24 -T/ 9.67 28.41 20.70 60.81 38.081/ 30.37/70.481/
1954-55 24 -T/ 9.84 28.94 21.12 64.78 38.781 30.96/74.621/
Total All Firms

1951-52 26 3.372/ 9.81 28.42 19.51 61.93 41.60 32.69 75.11
1952-53 29 3.022/ 9.71 29.12 21.98 59.62 41.85 34.71 72.35
1953-54 37 2.742/ 9.61 28.87 20.58 60.86 41.22 32.93 73.21
1954-55 36 2.362/ 9.38 28.93 20.91 64.72 40.67 32.65 76.46

1/ The cost of buying and selling unpacked fruit is not incurred by fresh fruit packers and is
Snot included in the total of all operations. Thus their total costs are not comparable with
citrus dealers.


2/ Average cost for citrus dealers.