US consumers paying over 22% more for their fruit than in 2019
In the US, households are spending over 20% more for the same fruits and vegetables than they were in 2019. This is the finding of a study by Category Partners based on four years of Nielsen IQ produce department data. Fruit inflation has been slightly higher, exceeding 22%, while vegetable price inflation was slightly lower at about 19%.
In 2019, the average fruit sold for $1.42 per pound while vegetables averaged slightly below $1.70. Prices have increased steadily every year and in 2023, average fruit pricing is now just under $1.90, while vegetables have jumped to over $2.00.
The smallest price increase was in grapes (+9.5%). Five of these top 10 categories declined in volume sales across the four-year period. Mandarins showed the largest volume decline, but this might reflect a short mandarin crop in the 2023 season.
As for organic produce, price increase percentages were generally smaller than for conventional produce. The price increase percentages in eight of the top 10 organic categories were below those of conventional products. As for consumption, volume sales of organic produce increased in eight of the ten major categories. In fact, only organic apple and watermelon volume dropped over the four-year period.
