More and more interest is being shown on both coasts in peeled 

 and deveined shrimp. These are usually packed in the 5-pound institutional 

 carton. Peeling and deveining is all done by hand. 



The general practice is to peel black-spotted shrimp. Some 

 plants peel broken shrimp, others merely freeze them as "broken pieces" 

 without peeling. 



FREEZING COSTS 



In Cuidad del Carmen freezing costs (winter 1955-56) for the 

 5-pound Institutional pack were about 5 cents a pound. The costs for 

 this pack in Guaynias and Mazatlan appeared to be a trifle higher. The 

 difference seemed to be in labor costs. The west-coast layer pack re- 

 quired more labor than did the east-coast jumbled pack, and wages generally 

 were higher on the west coast than in Carmen. The automatic grading 

 machine also tended to lower packing costs at Carmen. 



Packing costs in Carmen appear to have declined more than 2 cents 

 a pound since 1953 (table 23). Some of the decrease in costs can be 

 attributed to the 195U devaluation of the peso, but much has resulted from 

 increased plant efficiency. Only about IiO percent of the boats in Carmen 

 are company owned. The various freezing plants, consequently, have become 

 highly competitive in order to increase the volume of shrimp handled. 



TABLE 23.— FREEZING COSTS FOR JUMBLED INSTITUTIONAL PACK, 



CIUDAD DEL CARI-IEN 

 (In cents per pound. Average of two plants) 



1/ Estimated. 



2/ Automatic grading machine introduced in one plant. 



The Carmen plants will freeze for outsiders for 3 to 3. '5 cents 

 a pound. The usual price is 3.5 cents. This includes the cost of sorting, 

 packing, and freezing, but does not include storage or the cartons, which 

 must be furaished by the outsider. Freezing for outsiders is not as 

 common on the west coast. 



IDl 



