Weekly dollar sales rose and per-store volumes of fresh produce remained steady in the first quarter of 2011 when compared with the same period of 2010, according to the latest edition of FreshFacts on Retail, the United Fresh Produce Association's quarterly report.
FreshFacts is produced in partnership with the Perishables Group and is sponsored by Del Monte Fresh Produce, measuring retail price and sales trends for the top 10 fruit and vegetable commodities, as well as value-added, organic and other produce categories.
According to the report, a number of fresh produce categories experienced significant price increases in the first quarter of 2011, adding to much of the 4.8 per cent dollar growth for produce, although other categories such as premium items fared much better – including value-added and organic produce.
There were increases for value-added fruits dollar and volume sales, by 6.9 per cent and 9 per cent respectively, while the report highlighted gains of 8.4 per cent in dollar sales and 7.5 per cent in volume for value-added vegetables.
There were volume increases for berries (15 per cent), grapes (16 per cent) and specialty fruits (16.6 per cent), while organic fruits saw a dollar sales increase of over 23 per cent, and weekly volume growth of more than 16 per cent.
Meanwhile, a separate survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation has demonstrated how the impact of raw energy costs are driving up retail food prices.
The Marketbasket Survey showed how costs for transportation, marketing, processing and storage were coming into play, with average prices rising and consumers bearing the brunt at the supermarket.
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