production and processing of fruits and vege- 
tables are concentrated. 
Data were obtained from mail questionnaires 
and personal interviews. A list of all coopera- 
tives processing fruits and vegetables in the 
United States was developed by the Farmer Co- 
operative Service, and checked and updated 
by State cooperative councils, agricultural 
extension specialists, agricultural experiment 
station personnel, and others in the various 
States, 
In 1966, interviews were conducted with per- 
sonnel of 36 processing cooperatives selected 
from the most concentrated areas of fruit and 
vegetable production--California, Florida, 
Michigan, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, 
and Washington (fig. 1). Twenty-five of those 
interviewed processed only fruits, two 
processed only vegetables, and nine processed 
both fruits and vegetables. They were repre- 
sentative as to type of operations but above 
average in size. In addition, conferences were 
held with container manufacturers and regional 
container=-supply cooperatives. 
Questionnaires were mailed to 130 other 
cooperatives reported to be processing fruits 
and vegetables, Replies were received from 91 
cooperatives, or 70 percent of the total. How- 
ever, only 40 questionnaires were usable 
(fig. 2). Of the 51 unusable replies, 37 indi- 
cated that they did not process fruits or 
vegetables in 1965, 8 were no longer in busi- 
ness, 6 did not purchase containers, and 3 did 
not provide any information. 
Thus, findings in this study are based pri- 
marily on analysis of data provided by 76 
cooperatives (36 through personal interviews 
and 40 through mail questionnaires). 
Volume and Types of Products Processed 
The processing of fruits and vegetables in 
the United States is carried on by a relatively 
large number of cooperatives and other firms. 
Because of the wide variety of products 
processed, types of processing done, and 
range in volume of sales, the operations of 
these processing firms vary considerably. 
However, certain structural patterns in the 
procurement and use of containers and packag- 
ing supplies are well defined. 
Sales of Processed Fruits and Vegetables 
Volume is reported in dollars of products 
sold rather than in physical measures be- 
cause of the wide variety of fruits and vege- 
tables processed and the different size and 
type of packs. Total sales reported by the 76 
cooperative processors contacted in this study 
were about $669 million for 1965. Annual sales 
of the cooperatives ranged from less than 
$100,000 to approximately $100 million, with 
2 
an average of $8.8 million per cooperative. 
In addition, data submitted annually to Farmer 
Cooperative Service indicated about 39 other 
small cooperatives processed nearly $55 mil- 
lion worth of fruits and vegetables that year. 
Thus, total sales of all cooperative processors 
(about 115) were about $725 million in 
19654 
Nearly half of the 76 cooperatives reported 
sales in the $1.0 million to $4.9 million range; 
however, this group accounted for only 14 
percent of the total volume (table 1). Twenty 
percent of the processors reported sales of 
$10 million or more, but they accounted for 
77 percent of the reported volume. Overall, 
73 percent of the cooperatives reported sales 
156 cooperatives primarily processing fruits and 
vegetables reported sales to the National Commission 
on Food Marketing of $618.4 million in 1964-65, an 
average of $11,043,000 per association, See Organi- 
zation and Competition in the Fruit and Vegetable 
Industry, National Commission on Food Marketing, 
Tech, Study No, 4, pp, 255-272, June 1966, 
