In 1982, President Ronald Reagan declared August National Peach Month, and called on Americans to add more peaches to their diets. Retailers made that easier for shoppers by making peaches the most advertised fruit this week. Local peaches were advertised in every region of the country except Hawaii and Alaska.
Nectarines weren’t far behind in number of ads, and neither were red and white seedless grapes. Many stores featured Hatch chilis this week, showcased along with corn, bell peppers, zucchini, and yellow squash for grilling. Back-to-school ads continued to be seen in many flyers.
Total ad numbers this week were 374,941, a 11% decrease from last week’s 421,502. The total number of ads broken out by commodity groups: fruit 214,950 (57% of all ads), onions and potatoes 20,682 (6%), vegetables 133,064 (35%), herbs 2,203, and ornamentals 4,042. The number of ads for organic produce was 59,644, 16% 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 items this week included blueberries (6 oz at 38% and 1 pint at 15%), mangoes at 17%, red cherries at 13%, and blackberries at 10%.
Significant decreases included cantaloupes at 22%, avocados at 17%, and Gala apples at 14%. There were no significant increases or decreases in price this week for onions and potatoes. Significant increases for vegetables this week included baby-cut carrots at 12% and cucumbers at 10%. The sole significant decrease was for asparagus at 30%.
