COSTS OF PICKING AND HAULING FLORIDA
 CITRUS FRUITS, 1956-57 SEASON



 CONTENTS

 Page
 Introduction . .. . 1

 Services Performed .. .... 2

 Costs of Picking and Hauling, 1956-57 . 3

 Capital Investment . . . 10

 Variation in Cost Between Firms . 12

 Comparison of 1956-57 with Prior Seasons 15





 Introduction

 This is the seventh annual summary of costs of picking and hauling citrus fruits,

prepared from a sample of citrus dealers and packers. Other handling and marketing costs

in the citrus industry are released in separate publications as indicated inside the back

cover. Costs of handling citrus fruits from the tree to the packing or processing plant for

the 1956-57 season are summarized for 34 firms by type of fruit. Services covered were:

(1) buying and selling, (2) picking, which included delivery to the roadside, and loading

in the truck, and (3) hauling from the grove to the plant. Eight 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 and haul some of their volume. Con-

tracting with other operators to pick and haul part or all of their volume also was common
 1