The United Fresh Foundation FreshFacts on Retail report, for the third quarter of 2012, shows strong fresh produce sales across the US.

A decrease in average retail price boosted volume sales, especially for fruit categories. Avocados, specialty fruits and grapes were the primary drivers of volume growth and in the vegetables and salads categories, cucumbers, packaged salads, and mushrooms led the way.

Value-added fruits increased dollar and volume sales by 8.8 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively. Growth was driven primarily by the fresh-cut fruit segment, which accounted for some 75 per cent of value-added fruit dollar share.

Meanwhile, value-added vegetables’ growth outperformed their fruit counterparts, with a 10.2 per cent increase in dollar sales and a 10.6 per cent volume increase; organic vegetables increased dollar sales by 12.1 per cent while organic fruit increased dollar sales by 23 per cent.

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