Overview
It is important that all recipients of Fruit and Vegetable Market Reports are fully aware of the terminology that is used. This applies irrespective of whether the Market Reports appear in the newspaper, are heard on the radio, or are received on a subscription basis.

Daily Fruit and Vegetable Market Reports are produced to meet the varying needs of all sectors of the Industry. For this reason it is important that all prices that are obtained on the day are reported and not just those that are of interest to a particular group. Small specialty buyers who require a particular grade, particular sizes or who have other specific requirements will undoubtedly pay more than the larger buyers who take full pallet or bin lots. Market Reports must have the same relevance to both groups of buyers if they are to be seen to be credible. However, there would be very few instances when major buyers paid the "Best" price on the day and there would be equally few instances where small specialty buyers who may need to sort through numerous packages to source the two or three that they require would pay the same price as those larger buyers.

Producers need to be aware that whilst Market Reports are particularly important to them in monitoring prices they are also used by many other sectors of the Industry, often for different purposes. We do not believe that a Market Reporting system in which the market prices that are passed on to producers are what only they want to hear or are what they are likely to be paid has any place in the Industry at this point in time. If this is allowed to occur the Report will have little relevance to any other sector and a most important mechanism to check on prices will be lost. Continual monitoring of prices by buyers is the greatest contributor to accurate disclosures.

Although producers want to maximize their returns and are therefore looking for top prices they do need to recognize at what point their returns are likely to compare to the Daily Market Report. As mentioned earlier, top producers should expect returns based on the top of the Price Range for selected sizes of their best produce. Volume producers who may not be able to monitor grading and packing as closely should more realistically be looking to the Most Sales range as the basis for their returns. Second grade sound produce or unpopular extreme sizes will generally fall at the bottom of the Most Sales range and may even be below the bottom of Most Sales in some instances.

It is also important to recognize that the prices reported are wholesale selling prices within the Market. These are subject to a number of deductions including commission/profit margin, stacking and unloading charges and even freight where it has not been pre-paid.

By understanding the relationship between Market Report prices and returns producers will not only gain more valuable information from those Reports, their relationship with their Commercial Seller will also benefit.