Marketing Fruits and Vegetables

Report Introduction: More than 100 fresh fruits and vegetables, and products processed from them, are available to customers of American retail food stores. From this imposing array, civilians purchased nearly $15 billion worth (in retail food store prices) in 1965, an increase of 278 percent over 1929. These fruits and vegetables, originating from more than 50 million tons of farm production, were moved to consumers by a marketing system that is an outstanding example of the mid-20th century technological revolution. But as the marketing system expanded, so did the cost of moving fruits and vegetables from producers to consumers. In 1929, the marketing bill for moving fruits and vegetables worth $1.2 billion (farm value) was $2.7 billion. In 1965, consumers paid $10.7 billion for marketing services to obtain fruits and vegetables worth $4.0 billion. These statistics give some indication of the magnitude of the fruit and vegetable industry and the changes it has experienced in the 37-year period 1929 to 1965.