Temporal Allocation Alternatives for Southeastern Red Delicious Apples

Abstract

This study examines the economic feasibility of storing southeastern U.S. Red Delicious apples under various circumstances. Circumstances encompassed type of storage, potential market share in the storage periods, perceived level of quality, and opportunity cost of storage. Reactive programming was used to allocate shipments throughout the harvest and storage periods. Except for apples harvested in August, storage was found to be economically feasible under all situations studied. The greatest economic benefit to producers was shown to come from the synergistic effect of storage and improvement in perceived quality.