Page 8 



The Consumer's Dollar Showing a 

 High Retail Margin 



Per Box 



Fruit on tree !pl.4ri4 



Harvesting 292 



Parking 596 



Selling 077 



r.O.B. California .f2.419 



Freight and refrigeration 891 



Delivered price $;j.31 



Jobl)er*s margin 09 



Jobber's price 14.00 



Retailer's margin 3.4') 



(lonsumer pajs $7.4') 



100.0% 



BETTER FRUIT 



per cent. In the West, the Xorlhwest, 

 in Ciinuda iind in the Sonthern Stiiles, 

 where (li.stiinces eoveretl h>' a johher 

 are great, all expense.s — rents, wages, 

 telephone and telegraphic costs, travel- 

 ing salesmen, delivery and other ex- 

 penses incidental to the development 

 of a small town and conntry trade — 

 make the operating cost often twice as 

 large as in the more densely populated 

 Eastern States. 



Fluctuations in the Shipper's, Jobber's 

 and Retailer's Prices 



There is a widespread popular im- 

 pression that the retail price of citrus 

 fruits remains the same throughout the 

 year, irrespective of the price which 

 the retailer pays for the fruit. There 

 is a less widespread impression that the 

 jobber charges the retailer about the 

 same per box irrespective of what he 

 pays the producer for the fruit. 



We have charted the producer's 

 price, the jobber's price and the retail- 

 er's price on identical sizes and grades 

 of oranges for two years. These figures 

 cover thirty-four principal markets. 

 They do not include the small towns 

 and country trade. The fluctuations in 

 these prices are shown in the follow- 

 ing diagram: 



May 



rule applies wilh e(iiial force l<> the 

 retail trade. 



I'rices May Apparently Be Uniform 

 There is a condition in the citrus 

 fruit business that makes uniform 

 prices to the retailers and consumers 

 sometimes apparent. That is the vari- 

 ety of grades and sizes with which the 

 jobber or retailer may supply his cus- 

 tomer's wants. The orange retailer, 

 for example, may charge a uniform 

 price of 40 cents per dozen for weeks 

 at a tiiue, but he has varied the grades 

 and sizes to tit the uniform retail price. 

 The jobber has also the same ojjpor- 

 tunity in tilling the retail orders. A 

 price invesligati(m which is not made 

 on identical sizes and grades is mis- 

 leading and worthless for economic 

 conclusions. 



Lemon F*rices PMuctuate Less Than 

 Oranges 



While the jobber's and retailer's 

 prices on oranges follow the delivered 

 price with close regularity, the same 

 condition is not always true of lemon 

 prices. The reason is that the lemon is 

 largely a speculative product rather 

 than a staple product like the orange. 

 The i)rincipal use of the lemon is in 

 cold drinks in the summer time. The 

 I'riiit can be safelv stored I'or weeks 



Costs East and West 



The investigation shows a wide vari- 

 ation in the costs of doing business in 

 different parts of the country. In the 

 densely populated sections east of the 

 Mississippi, operating cost.s are com- 

 paratively low. Rents are lower, in- 

 terest rates, wages, the expense of 

 traveling salesmen and other expenses 

 are lower, sometimes by two or three 



From this chart it will be seen that 

 the three jiriccs follow each other with 

 almost mathemalical exactness. (Com- 

 petition among the johbers and among 

 retailers brings this about. The jobber 

 is keen for trade, and when the bu\ ing 

 Ijrice rises or falls he is forced through 

 competition to fluctuate his selling 

 I)rice to correspond. If he does not do 

 this, his more aggressive conii)etitor 

 lakes the business from him. The same 



and the johher and relailer sell llu' 

 lemon at relatively higher margins. 

 With the develdpment of more general 

 uses of lemons through national adver- 

 tising, such as eidinary uses, heallh ami 

 toilet uses, the lemon will he made a 

 more staple |)rodiict. The speculative 

 eknunt will grow less important, the 

 merchant will obtain his supplies as 

 needed, and Ihc jobbing and retail 

 prices will follow llie ilelivered price 



