The potential for air shipment of Arizona horticultural products

Published in 1971

The fruit and vegetable industries of Arizona are an important part of the local economy and could play an increasingly important part in the future. These industries are characterized by large shippers and growers who operate in fairly concentrated areas. The principal crops of interest to Arizona are lettuce, cantaloupes, and citrus fruits. Lettuce is the main interest at the present and receives the most attention in the analysis. The costs of shipping lettuce or other products depends on the relative costs of transportation by mode and on related costs such as the costs of damages or time. Air transportation costs are quite high at the present, but there is a prospect for as much as a 30 per cent reduction in present costs due to the advent of large jets like the Boeing 77. Shipping fruits and vegetables by air at the present does not seem likely due to the large differential in costs between air shipped produce and rail or truck shipped produce. If air shipping costs were lowered 30 per cent there would still be a differential in costs of shipping by the air mode versus the surface modes. The feasibility of shipping by air would depend upon the consumers willingness to pay the needed premiums for air shipped products. Other new technology within the perishables marketing system could also alter the shippers decisions of what mode to use

AZU_TD_BOX277_E9791_1971_126.pdf (2.58 MB)

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