COSTS OF PACKING AND SELLING FLORIDA
 FRESH CITRUS FRUITS, 1962-631



 Introduction


 This summary is based on the accounting records of 41 citrus pack-

inghouses for the citrus marketing season 1962-63. Eleven of these houses

were located in the Indian River section along the East Coast and 30 were in

the Interior and West Coast sections.

 The volume of packed fruit handled by the 41 packinghouses in 1962-

63 amounted to an equivalent of 10,638,154 boxes of 1-3/5 bushels, or approx-
 2
imately 47 percent of the total shipment of Florida fresh citrus.2 The volume

ranged from 9,500 to 1,133,000 packed boxes and averaged 259,500 boxes. Thus,

the sample packinghouses were considerably larger than the average of all

citrus packinghouses in the State. These latter averaged only 118,300 boxes

for licensed and registered fresh fruit shippers who shipped fruit from 190

houses in 1962-63. Because of the severe freeze in December 1962, the sample

packinghouses handled only 62 percent as much packed fruit as in the preceding

season. However, the reduction in volume was confined to the Interior and

West Coast houses, which packed only 46 percent as much as in the preceding

year. The East Coast houses packed 13 percent more fruit.


 1This is a report of one phase of Southern Regional Project SM-22,
"The Economic Efficiency of Marketing Florida, Puerto Rico and Texas
Citrus Fruit."

 2Calculated from data in 1962-63 Season Annual Report, Division
of Fruit and Vegetable Inspection, Winter Haven, Florida.