This week, a good deal of ad space was dedicated to baking supplies, and fresh berries, pears, cranberries, and apples were featured alongside them. Holiday favorites like sweet potatoes, pomegranates, Brussel's sprouts, celery and pineapples were abundant.
Total ad numbers this week were 301,474, an 8% decrease from last week's 325,991. Ad numbers this week were 3% lower than for the same week last year. The total number of ads broken out by commodity groups: fruit 148,725 (49% of all ads), onions and potatoes 23,683 (8%), vegetables 120,745 (40%) and herbs 676. The number of ads for organic produce was 29,417, 10% of total ads.
The following are the prices of major advertised items (3,000 plus stores) this week, compared to the same week last year. Significant increases in price for fruit this week included seedless grapes (white at 29% and red at 24%), avocados at 12%, cranberries at 12%, apple juice at 11%, and pineapples at 10%. Significant decreases included only Honeycrisp apples at 10%.
The only significant change in price for onions and potatoes was a 12% decrease in 5-lb bags of Russet potatoes. Significant increases in vegetable prices this week included green beans at 23%, celery at 22%, Brussel's sprouts at 22%, packaged salad (10-12 oz at 21% and 5-9 oz at 13%), and green onions at 20%.
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Source: mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov