A book published last May titled “Celery Juice: The Most Powerful Medicine of Our Time Healing Millions Worldwide,” is being given at least partial credit for the vegetable leading fresh produce retail sales growth last year.
Strong celery demand in 2019 pushed prices above $60 f.o.b. a carton in April. This year. the celery shipping point prices (f.o.b.) have generally been under $10 per carton in California, still about 15 percent higher than at the same time a year earlier.
Retail sales growth numbers (conventional and organic) in 2019 reveal celery retail sales rose 25.6 percent in 2019, compared with 2018 sales, according to Category Partners of Idaho Falls, ID. Category Partners describes itself as “…a strategic insights company focusing exclusively on the fresh industries in the retail grocery channel. We understand the uniqueness of producing and selling fresh products, along with the unique data and consumer trends it generates.”
Year-over-year sales growth (for conventional and organic) for other commodities) were:
- Broccoli: 8 percent;
- Raspberries: 7.7 percent;
- Blueberries: 7.7 percent;
- Onions: 7.6 percent;
- Avocados: 7.6 percent;
- Lettuce: 7.3 percent;
- Packaged salads: 5.6 percent;
- Herbs and spices: 5.2 percent; and
- Watermelons: 4.3 percent.
“There were only seven categories that were above average in both volume and price, and celery was clearly number one,” the company reported.
Celery volume sold was increased 9 percent in 2019, which means demand was thriving. Conventional celery was up 8.4 percent in sales and organic celery was 12 percent higher for the year. Organic celery accounts for about 9 percent of the total celery category, compared to 5 percent for the organic share of the entire produce department.