National Retail Report - May 23

I noted in the KC Star this morning some coverage about the price inflation compared with last year for the backyard barbecue. Still, it's Memorial Day....From the USDA's National Retail Report from May 23

Ads Centered on Memorial Day Celebrations
Despite unseasonably cool temperatures in many areas of the country, retailers focused ads heavily on the upcoming Memorial Day holiday. Fresh meats, fish, and poultry were most often highlighted on front page space in keeping with the holiday’s typical celebrations of cook-outs and picnics. In addition to center-of-the-plate items, fresh produce was featured often as many domestic fruits and vegetables became more available. Overall, fresh produce ad activity was up 14% compared to last week with fruits up 21% and vegetables up roughly 8%. The top 5 featured items were corn, cherries, seedless watermelon, sweet onions, and strawberries. The most notable increases were seen on corn, cherries, nectarines, peaches, and watermelons. Berries were advertised heavily this week. In addition to blueberries and strawberries reported here, raspberries and blackberries were widely promoted. Despite a decrease in price ad activity on strawberries in 1 lb containers, there were an abundance of “buy-one-get-one-free” ads. Both strawberries and blueberries were also featured in larger pack sizes – 2lb and 4lb containers of strawberries and pints of blueberries.