Rise in fruit sales in US

April 2021 retail sales of fresh fruit in the US were up from last year’s already high level, but vegetable sales dropped. Fruit sales in the four weeks up to April 25th were up 1.5% Y-O-Y, despite, while vegetable sales slumped by 8.8%. The value of sales in the fresh produce department overall slipped by 3.6%. Nevertheless, compared to the 2019 pre-pandemic level, fresh produce sales at retail were up 10.3%, according to IRI data cited in a joint report by IRI, 210 Analytics and the PMA.

In fresh fruit sales, berries remained the leading category, up 3% Y-O-Y in April. The other strong performers were grapes, melons and pineapples, while lower sales were recorded for apples, bananas, avocados and mandarins.