Transportation, Storage, Marketing 411 



While these observations are axiomatic, not every grower 

 is guided by them. Too often fruit that is poorly graded is 

 shipped under a brand which implies a highly standardized 

 product. In this case the brand used serves no other good 

 purpose than to warn the purchaser after one experience to 

 beware. Not infrequently the grower ships with little or no 

 knowledge of market requirements or conditions. 



From the nature of many of the marketing problems, it is 

 obvious that the individual grower is at a serious disadvan- 

 tage. He is necessarily absorbed in getting his fruit ready 

 to ship. He is handling a highly perishable product and 

 must act quickly. Unless he can sell on the track to a local 

 buyer, he usually has no other alternative than to consign 

 to a commissioner merchant in a more or less distant market. 

 In either case, if he is not well informed in regard to prices, 

 market conditions, and the competition he has to meet, his 

 returns are likely to be disappointing. 



Many of the marketing problems can be met more success- 

 fully by a cooperative shippers' organization than by individ- 

 ual shippers operating independently. It is for this reason, 

 in part, that a grower usually does well in selecting a location 

 for planting his orchard where there are community interests 

 in peach-growing of considerable size rather than to locate 

 where there is no alternative to individual action. 



Distribution of the fruit. 



One of the most important features of the whole marketing 

 problem is the distribution of the fruit. Not infrequently 

 one market within the shipping radius of a production center 

 is without adequate fruit to supply the demand, while a glut 

 exists in some other market to which a disproportionately 

 large quantity of fruit has been shipped. 



