As with oranges and grapefruit, materials and labor were the largest

 expense items. The cost of the materials, which includes the crate, liner

 and label, and the labor were about 65 percent of the total cost of packing

 and selling for the half Bruce and 61 percent for the 4/5 bu. flat Bruce.

 Bulk tangerines through-house-to-cannery averaged $0.47 per box for pack-

 ing and selling.

 Direct grove-to-cannery fruit and packed fruit purchased.--Pack-

 inghouse expenses for fruit going direct from the grove to the cannery

 averaged only $0.078 per box (Table 6). There were no materials or pack-

 inghouse labor involved except that several firms set off some fruit in

 boxes onto the packinghouse platform and had a small amount of receiving,

 trucking labor and supervisory labor.

 The cost of handling packed fruit purchased averaged $0.163

 per box. The principal costs involved were administrative and selling.


 Variations in Packing and Selling Cost Among Firms

 There was a wider-than-normal variation in the cost of packing

and selling citrus in 1962-63. The freeze in December 1962 severely re-

duced the crop available for fresh packing. However, the damage was un-

evenly distributed throughout the citrus belt. Some packinghouses on the

West Coast and Interior sections packed only a very small percent of their

usual volume, with the result that total per-unit costs went to unusual

highs. The East Coast section was not so much affected in fresh volume

packing and most houses there, had a favorable cost level per unit.

Some were able to reduce costs below the preceding season, Thus, the

variations in packing and selling cost in 1962-63 reflect operations

ranging from disaster conditions to near-capacity output.