Retail Produce Prices Drop, But….

Avocados should be one of the best buys in your local produce department as produce continues to arrive from Mexico and will continue to do so into May.  There’s also Chilean avocados which will be on retail shelves into late March.  California  avocados also are available and will continue well after the imported fruit is no longer available — into September.  Even when California has sole possession of the market, prices should remain reasonable.  The state expects to produce as much as 415 million pounds of avocados this season, 25 percent more than a year ago.

During the last quarter of 2011 the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables actually declined overall by eight percent, but we may not have necessarily have seen the benefits in our retail stores.  Why?  A major reason is the cost of fuel keeps rising to get the product delivered.

That means you may not have noticed the savings, for example, with oranges which had an average price of 93 cents per  pound in January, compared to 98 cents per pound in December.  Another example are tomatoes, which were costing on average $1.54 per pound in January, down a penny from December, but off five cents from the same time a year ago.