Posts Tagged “retail potato sales”
By Potatoes USA
Since public health restrictions for COVID-19 were put in place, potato sales at retail have been well above historical levels. This has continued throughout the summer, even as some of these restrictions have been relaxed. For the period from March 16 – September 6, 2020, sales of potatoes have been up every week, and the total value and volume are up 22 percent over the same period in 2019.
All categories, except prepared sides at the deli (many of which have been closed or refigured), have shown increases but the largest gains were for canned, dehydrated, and frozen potatoes. Fresh potatoes have also fared very well, with a 24 percent increase in volume and a 33 percent increase in value. Potato chips, the largest category at retail, has also performed well; up 8 percent in volume and 15 percent in value.
The greater increases in the dollar sales over volume reflects significant increases in the price per pound through the summer. The largest increases in price per pound were refrigerated and fresh potatoes, up 7.6 percent and 7 percent compared to the same timeframe in 2019.
Retail potatoes sales in the U.S. have skyrocketed during the Covid-19 pandemic, increasing 31 percent in dollars and 32 percent in volume in the three months from mid-March. Consumers are believed to be cooking more at home over recent months and favoring produce items with long shelf life. All potato categories across the retail store, except deli-prepared sides, increased in dollar and volume sales.
Most potato categories saw double-digit growth in both measures as dehydrated potatoes experienced the largest increase in dollar and volume sales. Dollar sales increased by 59 percent, and volume sales increased by 49 percent.
Deli-prepared sides decreased by 23 percent in dollars and 51 percent in volume. Over the 13 weeks, total potato sales saw dollar sale increases of 13 percent or more. Fresh potato sales increased by 46 percent, and volume increased by 35 percent.
Every fresh potato type except for fingerlings showed double-digit dollar sales growth. Fingerling potatoes were the only category that decreased in volume sales, down by 7 percent. Yellow potatoes showed the largest increase in both dollar and volume sales. Dollar sales increased by 54 percent, and volume sales increased by 42 percent.