Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Jonathan Feeney - Janney Montgomerry Scott LLC.
John DeMarco - Janney Montgomerry Scott LLC
This is actually John DeMarco on behalf of Jonathan. I know you gave the number. I missed it. The costs impact of the flooding that you felt during Q4.
Jeffrey Zalla
During the fourth quarter was $8 million.
John DeMarco - Janney Montgomerry Scott LLC
Okay. And you expect $30 million for 2009 during the first half presumably?
Jeffrey Zalla
Close to $30 million that are incremental, John, year-on-year and those will be spread really through the first three quarters.
John DeMarco - Janney Montgomerry Scott LLC
Okay. What are those costs specifically that are resulting from the flood? What is it that you are??
Jeffrey Zalla
We had about 1,300 hectares of bananas that were flooded late in 2008 in Costa Rica and Panama. So, we have two costs as a result of the flood. One, we need to go out and secure replacement volumes so that add logistic costs. It also adds incremental logistic costs to ship that volume. In addition to that we have got increased costs in maintaining the owned farms that drive productivity and restore those plantations.
John DeMarco - Janney Montgomerry Scott LLC
Got it, and were those hectares primarily owned land or??
Jeffrey Zalla
Yes. Those were owned. That is correct.
John DeMarco - Janney Montgomerry Scott LLC
Okay. Thank you. And then just sort of one last subject on switch in the salads, can you give a little more color on the 25% volume decline, I guess that was just food service salads, specifically how much of that decline was from customers that went to zero versus just existing customers ordering less because of their own traffic problems?
Brian Kocher
John, we went through a pretty aggressive process throughout 2008 to position our food service channel and really focus on driving profitability. So, the significant portion of that reduction volume is the result of their views for customers that were low margin or no margin that we agreed to exit because we could not get a value that we were providing with the customer.
So, most of that volume was as a result of us driving our profitability initiatives throughout the food service channel.
John DeMarco - Janney Montgomerry Scott LLC
I got it. So, excluding, if you could strip away the impact of your higher return thresholds you are requiring from your customers. Is there any reason to believe that the rest of the business would look any different from sort of general food service trends or a probably decline in line with food service traffic? Is that a fair assessment?
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