The volume of fresh fruits and vegetables purchased by American grocery shoppers increased over the past year, according to the United Fresh Foundation's Fresh Facts on Retail report for the fourth quarter of 2009.
The report shows an overall weekly volume increase for fresh produce of 6 percent over Q4 2008, as well as dollar sales increases for some categories of fresh fruit and vegetables, often a result of lower prices.
Fresh Facts on Retail is produced in partnership with the Perishables Group and sponsored by Del Monte Fresh Produce, and 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:
--Vegetable prices were 9.2 percent lower on average, resulting in a 5.9 percent increase in volume
--All of the top vegetable varieties increased in volume compared to Q4 2008, with prepared vegetables up the most at 7.7 percent
--Organic vegetables outsold organic fruit in dollar and volume sales
Fresh Facts on Retail can be downloaded free of charge for all United Fresh members ($50 for non-members). For more information about how to obtain the report or suggestions for future category spotlights, please contact Julie Jacocks, United Fresh education coordinator, at (202) 303-3400 ext. 405. For questions about specific data contained in the report, please contact Kelli Beckel at the Perishables Group at (773) 929-7013.