For picking and hauling combined (but excluding buying and selling), costs for

25 firms, both dealers and packers, ranged from 33.7 cents to 56.3 cents per box for

oranges and averaged 40.6 cents. The modal group of 13 firms had costs between 37.3

cents and 44.2 cents for oranges. Picking and hauling costs for grapefruit for 24 firms

varied from 26.3 cents to 43.8 cents per box, averaging 32.7 cents. The modal group of

12 firms had costs between 30.1 cents and 35.8 cents per box. Picking and hauling tange-

rines varied from 68.0 cents to $1.00 per box, and averaged 83.2 cents for 19 firms. Nine

of these firms had costs between 79.7 cents and 87.6 cents per box.


 Comparison of 1956-57 Costs with Previous Seasons

 Total picking costs for 1956-57 were higher for all firms as a group than the averages

of preceding seasons (Table 7). Operating costs for the citrus dealers were slightly lower

for all services performed except picking tangerines, Costs for fresh fruit packers were

higher for picking fruit in 1956-57. The fluctuation in total costs each season has been

wider for tangerines than for oranges and grapefruit. Very few of the citrus dealers picked

tangerines with their own crews, and packinghouse crews picked them in much smaller

volume than other citrus.

 Hauling costs were slightly lower for both groups of firms in 1956-57 than in the

preceding year.

 Most of the season-to-season variation in cost for each service is due to firms

included. These have not remained identical each year, and as previously pointed out,

costs vary widely between firms.