-9- 



Table 6. --Comparative Costs for handling 1,000 boxes of apples by 

 ■f^ri r various type of equipmeiit in Washington warehouses specified 



volumes , y-y r:-5;.-r.', Sir' '..■•. ■,;,;... 



Size of plant 

 (packed boxes) 



Types of handling equipment 



Clamp type 2- :36-box industrial :48-box industrial 

 wheel hand ; clamp lift : clamp lift 

 trucks ■'' J- trucks : trucks 





Dollars per 1,000 boxes handled 

 100,000 ., . , $53.91 $^6.28 $41.39 



200,000 ;i3 ,Sce; 49.31 ,,jj^^j^^^ V 31.97 32.22 



400,000 48.62 30.52 31.03 



Source: "Comparative Costs of Handling Apples at Packing and Storage 

 Plants," Marketing Research Report No. 215, Agricultural 

 Marketing Service, U. S, Department of Agriculture, March 1958. 



Thus, the actual experiences of apple warehouses in Washington, and of 

 research studies, clearly show the savings that can come from modern 

 facilities and equipment used to capacity, and from large-scale operations. 

 If growers in Entiat plan to rebuild, operating costs can be reduced 

 through construction of large-scale, modern facilities, and through use 

 of these facilities at a near capacity rate. 



■■■'*•' ■■'^^^- .nri'Bff *^'"'-oje ?r.x}j^':i i:.;sb£Z^'A 



TO Q::?'Vj|arkETING ASPECTS • .. asliqqrv? -^^.j,. / .T-.i<h. 



The previous sections on costs pointed out that large-scale facilities 

 can bring benefits to growers in the form of reduced costs. However, 

 as far as growers* returns are concerned, the reduction of costs is only 

 one side of the coin. The other side of the coin refers to the price 

 received for the fruit after it is stored and packed. Returns to growers 

 depend on both factors — lower costs and higher prices. 



Just as large-scale operations can reduce packing and storing costs, so 

 large-scale marketing or selling operations offer better opportunities 

 for reducing per unit selling costs, and even more important, for ob- 

 taining better prices for fruit. These benefits arise (1) from improving 

 the competitive position of the sellers (that is, the growers) by reducing 

 the number of sellers on the market in relation to the number of buyers 

 available to purchase apples; and (2) from being in a better position to 

 serve the needs of buyers by having larger quantities and more sizes, 

 varieties, and packs of fruit available to meet the specifications of 

 large-scale buyers in our present-day mass distribution system. 



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