24 
BULLETIN 1362, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
AUCTION SALES OF BANANAS 
Bananas have been sold at auction to a greater or lesser extent for 
years in New York City and Baltimore. Since 1914 the largest im- 
porter of bananas has used the auction method in Baltimore for sell- 
ing fruit intended for local consumption. In 1917 this same importer 
adopted the auction method exclusively for New York City distri- 
bution, and extended this policy to the Philadelphia market' in 1918. 
These three cities in 1923 showed gross sales of bananas at auction 
amounting to $11,116.79*2, which is 56 per cent of the declared value 
of the total banana imports of the United States for that year. 
At the ports of Xew York. Philadelphia, and Baltimore, all 
bananas going into local consumption are sold at auction at the 
time the cargo is unloaded. This fruit is unloaded on the dock 
side of the banana ship into wagons or trucks, each load consisting 
of bunches of approximately the same size and quality. Fifty to 
125 bunches of bananas constitute a load, according to the variety 
and size of the fruit. The banana buyers inspect the fruit as it is 
being transferred from the hold of the vessel into the trucks. Each 
truck load is auctioned separately as soon as the truck is filled, and 
is delivered immediately in compliance with instructions issued by 
the successful bidder. Bananas destined for inland points are 
loaded into refrigerator cars on the pier or on lighters or floats 
which are borne alongside the vessel. 
Auction sales of bananas have altered to some extent the dis- 
tribution of the fruit in these seaboard markets. At private sale 
the number of buyers in any market consisted of not more than 5 
or 10 large operators who sold to the small jobbers. The auctions 
opened the sales to all buyers who can handle truck-load or wagon- 
load quantities, so that the total number of buyers has increased 
to about 125 in Philadelphia, to more than 100 in Xew York City, 
and to approximately 150 in Baltimore. 
Banana sales at auction for local consumption in these three ports 
of entry, as shown in Table 3. grew in value steadily from 1913 to 
1920. and since then have been fairlv uniform. 
Table 3. 
■Value of "bananas sold at auction in Xew York, Philadelphia, and 
Baltimore from 1913 to 1923, inclusive 
1913 $2. 898. 104 
1914 3, 093. 623 
1915 3, 355, 797 
1916 3, 653. 399 
1917 4. 282. 958 
1918 7, 538, 693 
1919 S10. 910. 866 
1920 11. 768. 371 
1921 11, 748. 875 
1922 11, 067. 490 
1923 11, 146, 792 
In 1923 these sales were distributed as follows 
Market 
Cars of v i 
400 bunches, aJue 
12, 734 
4,524 
2,921 
$7, 569, 853 
2, 410, 960 
1, 165, 979 
Philadelphia.. 
Baltimore .. 
Total- 
20, 179 1 11. 146. 792 
