Consumers in the US have remained dedicated to including fresh produce in their diets despite the ongoing economic difficulties, with the outlook positive for further sales growth in the country.
That is the verdict of the latest edition of United Fresh Produce Association's FreshFacts on Retail research report, covering the fourth quarter of 2010, which revealed a year-on-year increase in weekly dollar sales and per-store volumes of fresh produce.
Produced in partnership with the Perishables Group and sponsored by Del Monte Fresh Produce, the report measures price and trends for the top 10 fruit and vegetable commodities, as well as value-added, organic and other produce categories.
According to the report, there was an increase in weekly dollar sales of 3.1 per cent for fruit during the fourth quarter, with growth of 11.6 per cent in volume and 8.4 per cent in sales for the value-added fruits category.
The report also pointed to a yearly increase of 1.6 per cent in volume terms and 4.1 per cent in sales for the value-added vegetable segment, while there was weekly volume and dollar sales growth for six of the top 10 items in the vegetable category.
In addition, the latest FreshFacts report also spotlights the organic produce segment, which has seen an increase in dollar sales, volume per store and average retail price in the fourth quarter.
Within the segment, organic apples, berries, grapes, citrus and avocados have all seen double-digit percentage growth in sales, while berries, grapes, citrus and avocados have seen the same double-digit percentage growth in weekly volume.
According to United Fresh, organic growth was lead by the prepared fruit category, with weekly dollar sales up 83.4 per cent and volumes up 46.2 per cent.
No comments yet