National Retail Report - Aug. 15

No 2 pencils instead of No. 1 apples? From the USDA's National Retail Report, the summary:


Produce Ads Down Slightly as Retailers Focus on Back-to-School Promotions
Ads had a heavy focus on back-to-school promotions this week with an abundance of sales on general merchandise and snack or lunch-sized items. In addition, many retailers continued to run a variety of promotions to attract family shoppers. Locally grown produce was still a focus of many retailers as well.

Overall, fresh produce ad activity decreased nearly 5% this week and was a combination of decreases of 3.75% in fruits and 6.29% in vegetables. Fruits continued to be more often highlighted than vegetables. All 5 top featured items were fruits, comprising more than 1/3 of total produce ad activity. These included: peaches, nectarines, grapes, cantaloupes,and plums.

The most notable change this week was an increase in 5 lb bags of russet potatoes. Ad activity was up significantly this week at slightly higher prices. This increase in activity came just as some crops are beginning to be harvested in Idahoand with growers in Idaho predicting lighter than usual supplies for the season.




Fruits as Percentage of Total Fruit Ads - August 15, 2008
Bananas 0%
Avocadoes, hass 3%
Apples, red delicious 0%
Bananas, organic 0%
Watermelon, seedless 3%
Watermelon, mini 1%
Cantaloupe 9%
Honeydew 2%
Grapefruit, red 0%
Grapes, green/red 13%
Clementines 0%
Cherries 3%
Strawberries, organic 2%
Strawberries 8%
Plums 9%
Pineapple 2%
Limes 1%
Lemons 1%
Oranges navel 0%
Peaches 14%
Pears, bartlett 8%
Mangoes 4%
Nectarines 14%


Vegetables as Percentage of Total Vegetable Ads - August 15, 2008
Broccoli 4%
Beans, round green 7%
Tomatoes on the vine 9%
Tomatoes 4%
Cabbage 4%
Carrots, baby organic 3%
Carrots, baby 6%
Asparagus 1%
Tomatoes, grape organic 3%
Tomatoes, grape 8%
Celery 3%
Corn 10%
Cucumbers 3%
Lettuce, iceberg 3%
Lettuce, romaine 1%
Mushrooms, white 3%
Onions, yellow 2%
Sweet Potatoes 0%
Squash, zucchini 9%
Potatoes, russet 4%
Peppers, bell red 4%
Peppers, bell green 5%
Onions, sweet 4%