Compared with year-ago levels, retail organic apple sales were up 30% in dollars and organic pear volume soared 29% in August.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, organic dollars have been climbing, according to a news release from Yakima, Wash.-based Domex Superfresh Growers. In fact, the release said August was the third month in a row where organic apple growth has been up more than 19% compared to the same period last year.
Organic apple sales were up 30% in dollars and 23% in volume in August. The big increase in August organic apple sales compared with a year earlier comes after a 28% rise in July sales and a 12% increase in June sales, according to the release.
The entire apple category has performed well, despite a late Labor Day holiday and a COVID-19 disrupted back-to-school schedule, according to Superfresh Growers.
Retail scan data shows total apple volume in August was up 2% in volume and flat in dollars. The 2% lower retail price of $1.71 per-pound kept sales flat?
For the four weeks ending Sept. 5, Nielsen scan data showed Honeycrisp volume was up 17%, with gala volume up 3%, fuji up 11% and granny smith up 6%.
In the pear category, August retail pear sales were up 2%, owing to a 7% increase in the average price per pound. The average bartlett pear price per pound was up 13% compared with a year ago, and there is an orderly and firm market in the transition from California to Pacific Northwest pears, according to the relaease.
