COSTS OF PICKING AND HAULING CITRUS FRUITS, 1953-54 SEASON


 Introduction


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

 the 1953-54 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. Thirteen of the firms furnishing data were citrus

 dealers specializing in the procurement, sale and delivery of fruit to the processing

 plant, and 24 were principally packers of fresh fruit or processors. Several of the firms

 did not perform all types of service in 1953-54. Two of the citrus dealers did not buy

 and sell fruit, but picked and hauled for others on a contract basis, and three did not

 pick fruit. 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.

 The location of all the firms studied was Polk County, 15; Orange County, 10;

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

 Seminole, Highlands, and Indian River Counties.

 Total volume of fruit handled varied widely between firms from 85,000 boxes to

more than 5 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

almost 200,000 boxes.

 Costs of Picking and Hauling, 1953-54

 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