The top promotion this week was for Saint Patrick's Day. Shoppers found specials on cabbage, carrots, onions, and potatoes to go with their corned beef. Accordingly, ads for onions, potatoes, and vegetables comprised a much larger percentage of total ads than in previous weeks. Lent, Easter, and Purim were also mentioned in many flyers. Lemons, limes, and mushrooms were among the featured items for Lent. Special Purim sections included apple and grape juice with other staples. Easter favorites included artichokes, Brussels sprouts, pineapples, and strawberries.
Total ad numbers this week were 287,137, an 8% increase from last week's total of 265,397. The total for the same week last year was 1% higher at 289,962. The total number of ads broken out by commodity groups: fruit 140,560 (49% of all ads), onions and potatoes 26,010 (9%), vegetables 116,285 (40%), herbs 848, ornamentals 1,972, and hemp 2,310. The number of ads for organic produce was 30,263, 11% 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 55%, red at 45%), pineapples at 40%, avocados at 16%, apple juice (64 oz.) at 15%, and organic tangerines (2 lb. bag) at 10%. Significant decreases for fruit included only Honeycrisp apples at 26%. There were no significant increases in price for potatoes and onions this week.
Decreases included red potatoes (5 lb. bag) at 20%. Significant increases in price for vegetables this week included only packaged salad (10-12 oz.) at 15%. Significant decreases included only carrots (2 lb. bag) at 14%.
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Source: mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov