Q3 2023 Organic Produce Performance

Organic fresh produce in 2023 Q3 grew in dollars by 2%, and increased in volume by 1.9% year over year. The Total Produce department gained 2.4% in dollars and increased by 1.8% in volume.

Both conventional and organic produce still follow inflationary trends, but the price increase in each segment was considerably less compared to the past two years.

In pricing, the convenƟonal produce average price/lb has grown by 0.6% compared to 2022 Q3, while the organic produce average price/lb only rose by 0.1%. Overall, the average price/lb has grown by only 1 cent for the Total Produce department compared to 2022 Q3.

Among the top performing organic categories, eight saw a decrease in their average price/ lb. Herbs and spices led this price drop by posting a 4.8% decline in their average price/lb over the previous year. Organic celery saw significant increases in price per pound, at 30.1%, likely to make up for the 20.9% decrease in volume. Organic and conventional produce both increased in volume during this past quarter.

Organics in 2023 Q3 saw a rise in volume of 1.9% over last year compared to a 1.8% increase for conventional. Both organic and conventional produce saw similar growth rates in both volume and dollars this last year.