Through appropriate methods of analysis, these sta- 

 tistics reveal important information about the workings 

 of the marketing system and as they are accumulated 

 over longer periods of time, their worth for this purpose 

 will increase. However, complicated methods of analy- 



Table 1— Corn, fresh, yellow: Prices, spreads, and grower-packer share 

 per crate, Minneapolis, by months, 1957-1962 ' 



Item May June July Aug. Avg. 



Prices Dollars 



Retail 2 



1957 5.40 5.06 4.98 2.24 4.35 



1958 5.18 5.30 5.18 1.80 4.12 



1959 5.68 4.95 4.48 1.80 4.70 



1960 5.75 4.38 4.53 2.43 4.20 



1961 4.58 4.59 5.54 2.12 4.00 



1962 5.07 4.57 4.52 2.58 4.10 



Wholesale 



1957 4.75 4.50 4.60 1.50 3.73 



1958 3.25 4.50 4.75 1.25 3.13 



1959 4.75 3.90 3.60 1.00 3.73 



1960 4.35 3.00 4.00 2.35 3.30 



1961 4.25 4.00 4.85 1.75 3.67 



1962 4.75 3.35 2.75 2.25 3.25 



Shipping point (f.o.b.) 3 



1957 2.80 — 2.38 1.25 2.20 



1958 1.70 2.25 2.18 1.00 1.67 



1959 2.40 2.20 1.82 1.00 2.05 



1960 2.50 1.25 2.74 1.90 1.80 



1961 2.40 2.40 3.22 1.47 2.26 



1962 2.80 1.50 1.88 2.00 2.08 



Grower-packer share 



of retail price Percent 



1957 52 — 48 -56 51 



1958 33- 42 42 56 41 



1959 42 45 40 56 44 



1960 44 28 60 78 43 



1961 53 52 59 69 57 



1962 55 33 42 78 51 



Spreads Dollars 

 Retail 



1957 65 .56 .38 .74 .62 



1958 1.93 .80 .43 .55 .99 



1959 93 1.05 .88 .80 .97 



1960 , 1.40 1.38 .53 .08 .90 



1961 33 .59 .69 .37 .33 



1962 32 1.22 1.77 .33 .85 



Shipping peint-retailer 



1957 1.95 — 2.22 .25 1.53 



1958 1.55 2.25 2.57 .25 1.46 



1959 2.35 1.70 1.78 — 1.68 



1960 „ 1.85 1.75 1.26 .45 1.50 



1961 1.85 1.60 1.63 .28 1.41 



1962 1.95 1.85 .87 .25 1.17 



Retail spread as percent- 

 age of retail price Percent 



1957 12 11 8 33 14 



1958 37 16 8 30 24 



1959 16 21 20 44 20 



1960 24 32 12 4 21 



1961 7 13 12 18 8 



1962 6 27 39 12 21 



Shipping point-retailer 

 spread as percentage 

 of retail price 



1957 36 — 44 11 35 



1958 30 42 50 14 35 



1959 42 34 40 — 36 



1960 32 40 28 18 36 



1961 40 35 29 13 35 



1962 39 40 19 10 28 



1 Crate of 5 dozen ears, U. S. Fancy. 



2 6 percent allowance for loss incurred during marketing process. 



" Origin — May and June, Florida; July, California except in 1962 from Minne- 

 sota; August, Minnesota. 



sis are by no means essential for beneficial use of these 

 data. A great deal of useful information can be ob- 

 tained by mere inspection or through very simple 

 calculations. 



A common use of margin data is for pertinent in- 

 formation on a specific commodity sold at a particular 

 time and place. Table 1 is a typical example and 

 illustrates how the statistics are presented. Prices for 

 fresh yellow corn from 1957 to 1962 are shown at 

 shipping point and in Minneapolis at wholesale and 

 at retail. The retail price is broken down into the 

 retail spread, the shipping point-retailer spread and the 

 grower-packer share. Other information, including pro- 

 duction area, is in footnotes. 



Seasonal Patterns 



These data are shown both on a monthly basis and 

 as seasonal averages. A careful examination and com- 

 parison of monthly prices and spreads may disclose a 

 seasonal pattern of behavior. Pronounced seasonal be- 

 havior is characteristic of commodities having a short 

 marketing season during which supplies change quite 

 rapidly from scarcity to relative abundance to scarcity. 

 Prices for these commodities, and spreads also to some 

 extent, are extremely variable. Cantaloupe and grapes 

 are typical. For example, the September retail price 

 for cantaloupe averaged in three markets over five 

 seasons was only 75 percent of the June price. Simi- 

 larly, the retail price for Thompson Seedless grapes in 

 September, averaged for four markets over five seasons, 

 was 64 percent of the July price. Consumers especially, 

 and also marketing agents and producers, may be able 

 to take advantage of such seasonal behavior. 



To those who must cope with the problems resulting 

 from such wide variations, general stability as displayed 

 by, for example lemons, might seem an enviable con- 

 trast. In four markets over five seasons the seasonal 

 average retail price of lemons varied only from $6.00 

 to $7.29 per carton. Within individual markets there 

 was even less variation. Lemon margins were also very 

 stable. Total marketing charges over five seasons ranged 

 from 78 to 86 percent of the retail price for lemons 

 sold in Atlanta. These charges ranged from 82 to 85 

 percent in Chicago, from 73 to 76 percent in Los 

 Angeles and from 83 to 87 percent in New York City. 

 This stability can be at least partly attributed to year- 

 round marketing of the crop and also to a partially 

 regulated marketing situation. 



Can Disclose Trends 



As monthly data can reveal seasonal behavior, so 

 seasonal data can disclose trends. Information on the 

 long-run changes in spreads and growers' returns is 

 one of the most important uses of margin data. How- 

 ever, some- precautions must be observed. Because 

 there is typically considerable month-to-month and 

 season-to-season variation in fruit and vegetable prices 



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