Northeast drives avocado volume growth
For the four-week period ending Feb. 21, the U.S. Northeast showed avocado volume growth of 27.4%, according to the Hass Avocado Board.
The Northeast region held a 14% share of total U.S. volume but drove 39% of total incremental units, according to the release.
The New York market was a primary driver of growth in the Northeast, the release said, with unit sales reaching 12 million units, a 29% increase over the prior period.
Nationally, the release said U.S. avocado volume grew 8.8% for the four-week period ending Feb. 21, while dollars increased 0.7%.
Year in review
The Hass Avocado Board also published a 2020 year-in-review.
The HAB reported:
- Total volume of avocado fruit sold in the U.S. rose by 6.1% in 2020, from 2.492 billion pounds in 2019 to 2.644 billion pounds in 2020;
- Bagged fruit saw a rise in popularity at retail. Bagged fruit in many weeks reached about 30% of retail sales, according to HAB; and
- There was some retail pricing deflation in 2020, the HAB said, with per fruit pricing coming off the average of $1.15/per fruit in 2019 to closer to $1 per fruit in 2020. The lower pricing was especially seen in the latter part of the year, according to the release.
