US: Fruit sales continue to climb

Sales of fruit in the US have continued to outpace last year's numbers in terms of dollars as well as pounds of fruit sold. While this year's vegetable sales have also been higher than last year's, the gains have been more modest.

Sales figures for the 52-week period ending in the middle of July showed an almost 10 percent gain in fruit sale dollars when compared to the previous 52-week period, according to data from FreshLook Marketing. Sales as measured in pounds of fruit were also up, but gains were a more modest 4.5 percent. The leading driver in terms of dollars was the berry category, with dollar sales for berries up 8.7 percent. Bananas saw the biggest gains in pound sales, with an increase of 5.4 percent over the previous 52-week period.

Vegetable sales also saw gains, but the increase in vegetable sales hasn't been as robust as the increase in fruit sales. In terms of dollars, vegetable sales were up 5.1 percent over the previous 52-week period, and sales were up 3.5 percent when measured in terms of pounds. The category with the biggest gains in terms of dollars was the lettuce category, with lettuce dollar sales up 7.4 percent over the previous year. In terms of pounds, potatoes saw the biggest gains, with an increase in sales of 1.8 percent over the previous year.