As shoppers are frustrated by higher prices on gas, goods, and services, retailers worked to help them stretch their grocery budgets this week. Families opting to save money by cooking at home found deals on a wide array of local and new crop produce.
Stone fruit from California and the Southeastern U.S. was featured in virtually every flyer this week. Grapes, blueberries, watermelons, and cantaloupes were also popular. Fresh corn, locally grown zucchini, yellow squashes, lettuce, asparagus, and tomatoes were on hand for light summer meals.
Total ad numbers this week were 303,536, a 10% increase from last week's 276,793. The total for the same week last year was 13% higher than for this year. The total number of ads broken out by commodity groups: fruit 170,575 (56% of all ads), onions and potatoes 18,409 (6%), vegetables 109,875 (36%), herbs 1,732, ornamentals 671, and hemp 2,274. The number of ads for organic produce was 55,946, 18% 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 red cherries at 52%, yellow peaches at 34%, seedless grapes (black at 26%, white at 18%, organic white at 12%), blueberries (6 oz) at 21%, raspberries at 19%, yellow nectarines at 17%, seedless watermelons at 17%, pineapples at 15%, and Braeburn apples at 12%. There were no significant decreases. There were no significant changes in the price for onions and potatoes this week. Significant increases in price for vegetables this week included corn at 31%, bell peppers (yellow at 20%, orange at 19%, red at 12%), and Iceberg lettuce at 12%. There were no significant decreases.
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Source: mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov