The latest edition of the United Fresh Foundation’s quarterly retail research report shows some promising news for the industry. Research contained in FreshFacts^® on Retail shows that produce department performance in the second quarter of 2010 had similar trends as the first quarter of 2010, with price changes varying, but dollar and volume sales growing in many categories.

According to the report, it is clear that "… fresh produce remains a high priority for many consumers, since many purchased more produce regardless of price. Onions, for example, increased a dramatic 41.9% in average retail price, but did not hinder volume as it grew 0.6%. A similar trend occurred in citrus, where price increased 16%, but volume still grew 2.7%. Even more promising, value-added fruit and vegetables increased average prices by 1.6% and 4.2% respectively, and both maintained volume growth."

The FreshFacts^® on Retail report, produced in partnership with the Perishables Group and sponsored by Del Monte Fresh Produce, measures retail price and sales trends for the top 10 fruit and vegetable commodities, as well as value-added, organic and other produce categories.

Highlights of this quarter’s report include:

• A 6.6% increase in average vegetable dollars and a 4.0% increase for fruit
• Five of the top 10 fruit categories and seven of the top 10 vegetables experienced dollar growth
• An increase in dollars and volume for every value-added vegetable category and an increase in overall value?added fruit dollar and volume sales by 10.8% and 9.1% respectively
• Increases of 7.9% in sales and 10.9% in volume for organic fruits overall

In addition, this edition features a Quarterly Spotlight on how to measure the performance of retail promotions in produce, including how to measure their effectiveness.  This quarter’s spotlight shows the produce department sold 27% of all volume while on promotion, with 57.6% of all fruit promotions being efficient (above expected sales) and 47.3% efficiency for vegetable promotions.

The complete FreshFacts^® on Retail report can be downloaded free of charge to all United Fresh members ($50 for non-members) at www.unitedfresh.org. For more information about how to obtain the report or suggestions for future category spotlights, please contact Patrick Delaney, United Fresh communications manager, at 202-303-3400 ext. 417 or pdelaney@unitedfresh.org. For questions about specific data contained in the report, please contact Kelli Beckel at the Perishables Group at 773-929-7013.