Easter was the primary focus at stores this week, with traditional favorites like pineapples, strawberries, sweet potatoes, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, green beans, and carrots widely advertised.
Shoppers celebrating in warmer regions also marked the beginning of grilling season by snapping up specials on corn, colored bell peppers, eggplants, and Vidalia onions, which have newly arrived on the shelf. Deals on grapes, cantaloupes, tangerines, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and mangoes made for sweet desserts and refreshing fruit salads. Ornamentals, particularly Easter lilies and tulips, commanded a notable percentage of ad space.
Total ad numbers this week were 313,925, a 3% increase from last week's total of 304,073. The total for the same week last year was 7% lower at 292,048. The total number of ads broken out by commodity groups: fruit 138,254 (44%), onions and potatoes 23,472 (7%), vegetables 132,572 (42%), herbs 740, ornamentals 15,441 (5%), and hemp 4,186. The number of ads for organic produce was 30,766, 10% of the 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 apple juice (64 oz.) at 21%, blackberries (5.6-6 oz.) at 21%, raspberries (6 oz.) at 19%, and cantaloupes (each) at 11%. Significant decreases included only pineapples (each) at 10%.
There were no significant changes in price for onions and potatoes this week. Significant increases in price for vegetables this week included baby-cut carrots (2 lb. bag) at 22%, green beans (per lb.) at 10%, and celery (each) at 10%. Decreases included carrots (2 lb. bag) at 25%, long seedless cucumbers at 15%, sweet potatoes (per lb.) at 15%, asparagus at 13%, and cucumbers at 10%.
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