Grapes and cherries captured the most retail advertising attention for fruit items in late June, while supermarkets focused ads for vegetables on grilling commodities, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's national retail report.
Grapes accounted 14% of fruit ads, while cherries ran number two at 11%, according to the USDA. The report said that total ad numbers for fresh produce this week were 392,793 a 7% increase from last week's total of 364,868. Fruit accounted or 56% of all ads, followed by vegetables with 34% and potatoes with 9%.
The USDA said the number of ads for organic produce was 48,591, or about 12% of total fresh produce ads. Average prices for advertised items saw increases for avocados (28% higher), strawberries (organic 16% higher, conventional 12% higher), yellow sweet onions (11% higher per pound), packaged salad (21%), and tomatoes (17%).
Decreases in average prices were noted for seedless grapes (25% to 31% lower, depending on color), blueberries (13% lower), limes (13% lower), portobello mushrooms (24% lower), green peppers (10% lower) and on-the-vine tomatoes (10%) lower.