Now that fall's warm days and cool nights have arrived in most areas of the country, potatoes, onions and carrots were heavily advertised in the US, as well as celery, hard squash, mushrooms, cabbage, greens, and tomatoes. Pumpkins took up quite a bit of ad space this week, because of the season’s festivities. Late season peaches and nectarines were promoted along with ever-popular grapes and berries. Potted mums were featured in almost every flyer.
Total ad numbers this week were 318,869, a 5% decrease from last week's 330,420. Ad numbers this week were 8% lower than for the same week last year. The total number of ads broken out by commodity groups: fruit 151,356 (48% of all ads), onions and potatoes 20,163 (6%), vegetables 137,983 (44%), herbs 787, ornamentals 3,091, and hemp 489. The number of ads for organic produce was 47,705, 15% of total ads.
The following are the prices of major advertised items (3,000 plus stores) this week, compared to the same week last year. Significant increases in price for fruit this week included avocados at 20%, Bartlett pears at 17%, and red seedless grapes at 13%. There were no significant decreases.
Significant changes in price for potatoes and onions included only a 15% decrease for 5 lb red potatoes. Significant increases in vegetable prices this week included asparagus at 19%, pumpkins at18%, and packaged salad (10-12 oz at 15%, 5-9 oz at 13%). Significant decreases included only zucchini at 23%.
