Editor's Note: The following report is from The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023, which provides insight based on survey responses from consumers. Since 1983, The Packer has sponsored 40 major consumer studies to track trends in the purchases and consumption of fresh produce, documenting the fluctuation in purchases of specific fruits and vegetables as well as changing attitudes toward industry issues.
Always a consumer favorite, oranges have shown fairly stable consumption levels in the last decade.
The USDA reports the average retail per capita availability for oranges was 9.1 pounds in 2020, down about 6% from 9.7 pounds in 2011.
The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023 survey indicated that 46% of all consumers purchased oranges last year, compared with 47% in Fresh Trends 2022 and 51% in Fresh Trends 2021.
Higher income does relate to higher orange consumption, with Fresh Trends 2023 showing that 57% of consumers earning more than $100,000 a year reported orange purchases, substantially higher than the 39% of consumers earning less than $25,000 annually who said they bought oranges.
Like many commodities, oranges showed inflation at the farm level and in consumer pricing in 2022.
The 2022 average fob price for oranges was $24.93 per carton, according to the USDA, up 17% from $21.34 per carton in 2021.
The average retail advertised price for oranges was $1.58 per unit in 2022, up 13% from $1.41 per unit in 2021. The number of stores promoting oranges totaled 666,970 in 2022, down 23% from 857,286 in 2021.
Consumption of oranges was fairly consistent among consumers of all ages, according to Fresh Trends 2023. Forty-eight percent of consumers aged 60 and older reported orange purchases, compared 49% for those from 30-39 years old and 41% for consumers from 18-29 years old.
Fresh Trends 2023 reveals that consumers with kids at home were more likely to buy oranges, with 51% reporting purchases in the past year, compared with 42% for consumers with no kids at home.