This weekend, a wide variety of winter citrus, apples and grapes for eating and gift giving was well-advertised. Asian vegetables like bok choy, Chinese cabbage, daikon, green onions, cilantro, and chili peppers were popular. The luck that comes with a new lunar year will surely extend to this year's Super Bowl, at least for one team.
Retailers were generous with specials on football party favorites, including the champions of all Super Bowl produce, avocados, and their sidekicks-tomatillos, Roma tomatoes, and onions. A few ads offered ideas for making snack platters, along with deals on baby carrots, celery, cauliflower, broccoli crowns, and green peppers. Shoppers celebrating Valentine's Day early were greeted with an abundance of floral arrangements, candy, and chocolate covered strawberries.
Total ad numbers this week were 267,447, a 3% decrease from last week's total of 276,686. The total for the same week last year was about the same as this year at 268,481. The total number of ads broken out by commodity groups: fruit 142,059 (53% of all ads), onions and potatoes 22,790 (9%), vegetables 85,542 (32%), herbs 6,276, ornamentals 13,098 (5%), and hemp 3,958. The number of ads for organic produce was 32,902, 12% 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 seedless grapes (white at 44% and red at 19%), and blackberries (5.6-6 oz. package) at 13%. Significant decreases for fruit included pineapples at 22%, avocados at 15%, and limes (ea) at 14%. There were no significant changes in price for potatoes and onions this week. Significant increases in price for vegetables this week included only Roma tomatoes at 15%. There were no significant decreases.
Click here to read the full report.
Source: mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov