This week we saw melons, summer squash, and most stone fruit go by the wayside as retailers filled their bins with fall favorites. Cranberries made their first appearance in ads this week, adding extra fall glory to the growing array of pumpkins, acorn and butternut squashes, cabbage, pomegranates, pears, and potted mums. Halloween items like costumes, candy, and decorations have begun to take up more space in ad flyers. Some retailers featured specials for Yom Kippur, including carrots, beets, parsnips, potatoes, and honey.
Total ad numbers this week were 289,235, a 4% increase from last week's 278,418. The total for the same week last year was 12% higher than for this year. The total number of ads broken out by commodity groups: fruit 153,161 (53% of all ads), onions and potatoes 21,838 (8%), vegetables 109,848 (38%), herbs 872, ornamentals 2,186, and hemp 1,330. The number of ads for organic produce was 44,674, 15% of total ads.
The following are the prices of major advertised items (3,000 plus ads) this week, compared to the same week last year. Significant increases in price for fruit this week included Gala apples (per lb.) at 46%, blackberries at 33%, yellow peaches at 31%, apple juice at 26%, organic seedless grapes (white and red at 14%), conventional seedless grapes (red at 14%, white at 12%), and pineapples at 12%. There were no significant decreases. There were no significant changes in the price for onions and potatoes this week. Significant increases in price for vegetables included green cabbage at 21%, spaghetti squash at 14%, and acorn squash at 10%. Significant decreases included only asparagus at 13%.
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Source: mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov