SUMMARY


Twenty-six retail produce executives, 30 produce managers, and 17 pro-
duce wholesalers were interviewed in Philadelphia, Boston, and Detroit
during May and June 1976.

Retail firms controlled a total of 1,400 supermarkets.

Total weekly celery volume of all firms interviewed was approximately
50,000 crates.

Celery accounted for 2.3 to 2.7 percent of retail produce sales in the
three market areas, but this percentage varied widely among individual
firms.

Retail stores sold an average of about 14 crates of celery per week in
all cities, but ranged from less than nine to nearly 35 crates weekly.

Virtually all celery handled by wholesalers was purchased directly from
shippers, compared with 83 percent of retailers' volume from shippers.

Large volume retailers bought 94 percent of their needs from shippers
while small-volume retailers purchased 52 percent from wholesalers.

Florida celery makes up 80 to 85 percent of study firms' celery volume
from January through May, with smaller proportions in both the early
and late months of the Florida season.

Florida has a substantial transportation cost advantage in shipping
celery to the three study markets. Truck rates per crate from Florida
are considerably less than either truck or rail costs from California.
Time enroute from Florida is also much less.

Nine of the 19 retailers, accounting for 57 percent of all retail
celery stalk volume, preferred the waxed carton to the wirebound crate.
Another five, representing 29 percent of stalk volume, were indifferent
between the two containers. The remaining retailers, with 14 percent
of study firms' volume, preferred the crate.

Seven of 13 wholesalers, representing 52 percent of wholesaler volume
of stalks, preferred the wirebound crate. Five wholesalers, with 44 per-
cent of volume, expressed a preference for the carton, while one whole-
saler was indifferent.