The United Fresh Produce Association recently released its FreshFacts on Retail report for the third quarter, and the data show that vegetables continue to see much more dollar growth overall than fruits.
The produce department generated $16.1 billion in the third quarter, according to the report, with $8.2 billion coming from fruit and $7.4 billion coming from vegetables. Vegetable dollar sales, however, were up 4.5% from the third quarter of 2018, while fruit dollar sales had grown less than 1%.
Fruit
“Performance was mixed across top ten fruit commodities during the quarter as six categories saw volume growth, whereas sales were down in three categories,” United Fresh wrote in the report. “Mandarins continued double-digit growth, rebounding from supply challenges. Oranges and lemons volume sales surged as prices
plummeted, but not enough to provide much of a boost to the bottom line.”
Grapes ranked as the top commodity for the quarter in dollars, bringing in $863 million. Volume sales were up 3.2%, but dollar sales were down 6%.
Avocados saw volume sales fall 5.5% and dollar sales grow 9.5% as prices jumped 15.9%.
“Household penetration declined in avocados, strawberries, cherries and pineapples, while average
dollar spend fell for mandarins, grapes, cherries, strawberries and apples,” United Fresh wrote in its report.
Vegetables
As usual, packaged salads led the vegetable category, with $1.2 billion in sales in the third quarter. Volume and dollar sales both increased more than 4%.
Onions and lettuce were among the items that saw the most significant dollar growth, both up more than 9%.
“Vegetable contribution to the overall produce department sales continues to climb,” United Fresh wrote in its report. “Volume sales were up 1.8%, indicating the growth is primarily due to higher prices. Potatoes, lettuce, mushrooms and carrots all reached fewer households compared to Q3 of 2018, which contributed to sales challenges.”
Looking ahead
The FreshFacts on Retail report also provides looks ahead on the carrot, cauliflower and orange categories and includes a section on sustainability.
United Fresh will host a webinar on the report Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. EST with analysis by Nielsen Fresh associate director Matt Lally and observations from Tops Friendly Markets director of produce Jeff Cady, who is the chairman of the United Fresh Retail-Foodservice Board.