National Retail Report

Here is USDA's National Fruit and Vegetable Report for Dec. 7.

Advertised Prices for Fruits & Vegetables at Major Retail Supermarket Outlets 12/01 to 12/13
Imported produce featured heavily. Retailers continued to run ads with various holiday themes. Almost all retailers were featuring a variety of party trays and fruit baskets. Many stores were featuring “stock up and save for the Holidays” type promotions with 10 for $10, buy-oneget-one-free, and even a few buy-one-and get-two-free sales. Some retailers featured ads highlighting Hanukkah celebrations with main items such as beef, chicken, and potatoes. This week, fruits and vegetables were featured by about the same number of stores. However, the vegetable ads were spread over 26 items compared to a total of 18 fruit items. Grape tomatoes were the leading feature of the week followed by avocados, Clementines, mangoes, and pears. Imported produce items (avocados, Clementines, and mangoes) were the bulk of the leading items. Features for these commodities corresponded to heavy volumes of imports as is normal for this time of year. Other notable increases in activity on imported items were seen in blueberries, cherries, and grapes. Ads also featured an array of seasonal items in the produce department including a variety of citrus (satsuma mandarins, pummelos, tangelos, and tangerines), a variety of greens (collards, mustard, and turnip), and a variety of nuts (chestnuts, pecans, and walnuts). In addition, organic items seemed to be more prevalent, especially 5 lb bags of potatoes, celery, carrots, romaine lettuce, and sweet potatoes. Decorative items such as Poinsettias, mini Christmas trees, and holiday flower arrangements and greenery were also promoted heavily.

Fruits as Percentage of Total Fruit Ads December 07, 2007
Avocadoes, hass 12%
Bananas 2%
Bananas, organic 1%
Blueberries 9%
Cantaloupe 0%
Cherries 8%
Grapes, green/red 7%
Grapefruit, red 4%
Limes 2%
Lemons 1%
Clementines 12%
Mangoes 11%
Oranges, navel 5%
Pineapple 6%
Pears, Bartlett 10%
Peaches 0%
Apples, red delicious 8%
Strawberries 1%

Vegetables as Percentage of Total Vegetable Ads December 07, 2007
Celery 3%
Cucumbers 4%
Lettuce, iceberg 3%
Lettuce, romaine 1%
Corn 0%
Carrots, baby organic 4%
Broccoli, organic 2%
Beans, round green 3%
Broccoli 2%
Cabbage 3%
Carrots, baby 6%
Asparagus 8%
Onions,sweet 8%
Peppers, bell green 4%
Peppers, bell red 5%
Potatoes, russet 6%
Squash, zucchini 5%
Sweet Potatoes 2%
Tomatoes 1%
Tomatoes, grape 14%
Tomatoes on the vine 3%
Onions, yellow 3%
Mushrooms, white 7%
Tomatoes, grape organic 4%