CoKdSvy t'oint Priciiif' ol' apples - 



A method of country point price reporting was devel- 

 oped by the Departmeiit of Agricultural iconomics, and tested 

 during the '52 and ",'3 apple marketing seasons. The study 

 dealt vdth iiclntosh sold at wholesale, 



A group of grovrers, v;hose marketing practices vrere 

 representative of the practices of all local grovrers, vol- 

 unteered to report their sales data. All information re- 

 ported was kept confidential. 



Reporting was on a weekly basis e Grov/ers vrere supplied 

 with blank forms, on which they wrote the sales data. Prices 

 vfere figured "back to the storage". The grovrers sent the 

 filled-in forms to the University, v/here the data were sum- 

 marized. The forms v/ere then returned to the groirers. 



The report form listed the following: Date of sale; 

 Number of bushels soldj Price per bushel; Nearest U.S.gradej 

 Size; Condition; Color; Package; Kind of buyer; and market 

 area where sale was made. 



In the second season, a weekly summary 7iras sent to 

 the growers. This sheet listed the volume sold to date, 

 and the country point price for various grades, sizes, and 

 packages sold to various outlets in the various markets. 

 It also gave an indication of the relative movement by 

 grades, packages, and sizes. 



The total volume reported in the first season was 

 25,000 bushels with a "shipping point" value of about vll5,00c). 

 In the second season, over 70,000 bushels were reported, 

 with a value of about $200,000, 



The growers who took part in the s tudy r eported that 

 the information secured was of substantial value to them, as 

 it gave prices received by grovrers who sold in many differ- 

 ent ways, and that it was more realistic than information 

 from v^iole sale market centers alone, 



—Robert A, Fitzpa trick 



The practical findings of the research study reported above are as follows: 



1, Country point price reporting is possible, 



2, "Back to the storage" prices indicate what growers are actually getting 

 from several methods of marketing, 



3, Modern methods of marketing emphasise the country storage point as an im- 

 portant pricing point. Storage door prices were shown to be more steady 

 and more realistic than Boston w holesale market prices, 



I4, A method of reporting by groviers has been tried out and suggested for 



adoption, 

 5, The accuracy, value and use of the suggested method deoends upon growers, 



F.".Cole 



