Jul 26, 2011 9:52 AM

Bonuses account, on average, for 30% of C-suite executive (chief executive officer, chief operating officer, and chief financial officer) compensation, according to a new survey of produce industry compensation and benefits released by the United Fresh Foundation, through its Center for Leadership Excellence.

The confidential survey of 119 produce industry companies measures employee compensation and benefit data for a range of full-time positions including sales and marketing, production and operations, quality control and assurance, administration, finance and accounting, and executives. The survey was open to US-based produce industry employers including grower-shippers, brokers, wholesaler-distributors, importers, exporters, and fresh-cut processors.

United’s compensation survey shows detailed salary and benefits information on companies, sorted by ownership type, type of business, produce sales volume, number of full-time employees and geography.

The survey represents a range of the industry with regard to company size, with 32% of responses coming from companies with between 100 and 499 full-time employees, and almost 17% coming from companies with fewer than 20 full-time employees. Also represented is a large range of sales volumes, including 30% of responses from companies doing more than $100 million in annual volume, and 22% from companies doing less than $15 million in sales annually.

Additional information in the report includes:

•Adjustments to salary structure during the current fiscal year and anticipated adjustments for the coming year

•Basic healthcare plans provided by companies

•Retirement plans offered by companies

The survey report is available to members of United Fresh for $495 and non-members for $695. Companies that participated in the survey receive an additional discount. More information is available by contacting Victoria Backer at 202-303-3400, ext 408, or vbacker@unitedfresh.org.