With prices continuing to rise on many items, retailers offered shoppers some relief at the register with deals on popular items like avocados, apples, mangos, blueberries, asparagus, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms. New crop winter citrus like Navel oranges, clementines, satsumas, tangerines, and grapefruit from California and Texas was featured in many stores. Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Gala, and Fuji apples were heavily advertised. 4.5-, 6-, and 8- inch poinsettias added Christmas cheer to ad flyers. Hannukah specials on honey, apple sauce, grape juice, dates, and carrots were offered by several store chains.
Total ad numbers this week were 284,414, a 12% increase from last week's total of 253,799. The total for the same week last year was 8% higher than for this year. The total number of ads broken out by commodity groups: fruit 168,393 (59% of all ads), onions and potatoes 26,934 (9%), vegetables 79,159 (28%), herbs 1,361, ornamentals 8,285 (3%), and hemp 282. The number of ads for organic produce was 36,861, 13% of total ads.
The following are the prices of major advertised items (3,000 plus ads) this week, compared to the same week last year. Significant increases in price for fruit this week included Bartlett pears at 29%, apple juice at 26%, Fuji apples at 13%, blackberries at 11%, and black seedless grapes at 11%.
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Source: mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov