As winter storms continued to blow across the US, Passover favorites like apple and grape juices, honey, dates, and leeks were featured in special sections along with other holiday staples. Strawberries, pineapples, asparagus, raspberries, grapes, and mangoes were on hand for lighter spring meals.
Total ad numbers this week were 251,103, a 13% decrease from last week's total of 289,962. The total for the same week last year was 10% higher than for this year. The total number of ads broken out by commodity groups: fruit 139,899 (56% of all ads), onions and potatoes 16,763 (7%), vegetables 90,746 (36%), herbs 1,013, ornamentals 2,267, and hemp 415. The number of ads for organic produce was 33,479, 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 strawberries at 15% and apple juice at 13%. Significant decreases included Honeycrisp apples at 16%, clementines (3 lb. bag) at 15%, avocados at 13%, and black seedless grapes at 11%. There were no changes in price for onions and potatoes this week. Significant increases in price for vegetables this week included only tomatoes at 25%. There were no significant decreases.
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Source: mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov