National Retail Report - August 29

From the USDA's National Retail Report:

This week’s retail ads focused on the upcoming Labor Day holiday. In celebration if this unofficial final weekend of summer, produce ads were dominated by melons, stone fruits, corn and other picnic items. Complementary items in other departments such as beverages, chips, charcoal, and grilling meats were also featured. The top 5 featured fresh produce items this week were grapes, peaches, corn, nectarines, and plums. There were twice as many ads for fruit this week as vegetables. Watermelon, strawberries and cantaloupes were also strongly featured by retailers, as well as tomatoes on the vine.

Vegetables as Percentage of Total Vegetable Ads - August 29, 2008
Tomatoes, grape organic 1%
Tomatoes, grape 4%
Lettuce, romaine 2%
Peppers, bell red 6%
Mushrooms, white 5%
Onions, yellow 3%
Peppers, bell green 6%
Onions, sweet 4%
Squash, zucchini 4%
Lettuce, romaine 1%
Sweet Potatoes 1%
Potatoes, russet 2%
Tomatoes, Organic 1%
Tomatoes on the vine 8%
Tomatoes 4%
Cucumbers 7%
Celery 2%
Corn 15%
Carrots, baby organic 2%
Carrots, baby 6%
Cabbage 3%
Broccoli, organic 0%
Broccoli 3%
Beans, round green 6%
Asparagus 2%