For the four-week period ending Oct. 3, total U.S. avocado dollar sales were up 2.2% to $175.7 million, adding $3.8 million to the category compared with the prior year, according to an analysis by the Hass Avocado Board.
That dollar growth rate of 2.2% for avocados compares with the total produce dollar growth rate for the period of 4%.
The average avocado price per unit was up 16.4% at $1.19/unit, according to the report.
When compared to the 2020 pandemic sales, avocado volume sales have continued at a slower pace this period, down 12.2% compared with a year ago.
However, during the past four weeks, all eight regions have recorded strong volume growth for the avocado category versus the pre-pandemic sales levels of 2019, the report said.
Regionally, the West drove the two-year volume growth with sales of 26.7 million units, up 16.3% compared with 2019. By market, Los Angeles contributed the highest unit growth in the category, up 13.2%, which added 1.3 million units to the category since 2019.