WASHINGTON–While produce prices remained relatively flat during the first quarter of 2010, shoppers increased produce purchases compared to a year ago, resulting in more than 3-percent growth in sales and volume, according to FreshFacts on Retail, the quarterly research report of the United Fresh Foundation. The FreshFacts on Retail report, produced in partnership with the Perishables Group and sponsored by Del Monte Fresh Produce, measures retail price and sales volume trends for the top 10 fruit and vegetable commodities, as well as value-added, organic and other produce categories.
Highlights of this quarter’s report include:
- Vegetables volume sales increased 5 percent and fruit increased 1.5 percent in Q1 2010, compared to Q1 2009
- Six out of the top 10 fruit categories experienced dollar growth, with the citrus category leading this trend with 11.7 percent gain in weekly dollars per store
- The largest volume growth in the top 10 vegetable category was peppers, up 9.4 percent despite a 2.1 percent increase in price
- Both value-added fruit and vegetables experienced increases in dollar and volume sales
- Fresh cut fruit, which represents more than three-quarters of the total value-added fruit sales, increased weekly dollar sales by 14.8 percent, compared to 10.8 percent of the entire value-added fruit category
- Trays, representing more than 20 percent of the total value-added vegetable sales, saw the strongest performance gains among the subcategories with a 12.1-percent increase in weekly dollar sales and 12.5 percent in weekly volume
- Organic vegetables outsold organic fruit in dollar and volume sales
In addition, this edition features a Quarterly Spotlight on how produce assortment is changing. The report examines produce assortment through two measures, including impressions, which evaluate how the presence of different categories changed, and an assessment of bulk and packaged sales to see how the use of packaging is changing in the produce department.
The complete FreshFacts on Retail report can be downloaded free of charge to all United Fresh members ($50 for non-members).
