herein, however, could be employed to analyze the impact of such alternatives on the Florida

fruit and vegetable industry.

 Another possible limitation of the study is that alternative crops were not more

extensively analyzed. Vegetable crops produced in Florida which currently do not utilize methyl

bromide include sweet corn, green beans, celery, and leafy vegetables. An assumption made

in the study is that market conditions currently limit the potential for expanded production of

these crops. It is possible, however, that crops which currently are not produced in Florida

could replace, in part, the revenue lost to Florida vegetable producers are no longer able to use

methyl bromide. The process of identifying, developing successful production systems, and

penetrating markets for these crops is likely to be difficult.

 The methodology employed in this study to estimate the economic impact of a methyl

bromide ban is deterministic in that average yield and cost of production data were used. In

reality, there is significant year-to-year variation is harvested production per acre in fresh fruit

and vegetable production. Variation in crop yields is a result of both weather and economic

factors. The uncertainty faced by fresh fruit and vegetable producers and the possible impact

that uncertainty might have on their production decisions is ignored in this study. The major

reason for this omission is the lack of time series on crop yields in Mexico.

 While the deterministic assumptions incorporated into the spatial equilibrium may ignore

an important aspect in horticultural crop production, it is likely that extension of the model to

incorporate stochastic yields would not materially change the results of the analysis. The results

presented herein depict the long-run, and it is unlikely that a stochastic model would offer

different implications for the Florida industry from a ban on methyl bromide.