Organic Produce Network report: Organic produce sales up 8% in Q1
Total organic fresh produce sales were up 22% for the month of March, with overall first-quarter sales up 8% in retail conditions unlike any ever experienced in the modern era of grocery retailing, according to the 2020 Q1 Organic Produce Performance Report released exclusively by the Organic Produce Network and Category Partners.
Unprecedented consumer purchasing behavior across the United States because of COVID-19 emptied store shelves, resulting in widespread out-of-stock conditions. In March, total organic dollars were up 22% from March of last year and significantly above the dollar increase of January and February of this year, which stood at 1.8%. Data shows organic fruits and vegetables out-performed conventional products in produce departments the first three months of the year, with dollar sales of organic fruits and vegetables increased by 8%, and volume up by 10%. Conventional fruits and vegetables grew by 6.6% in dollars and 7.7% in volume.
The 2020 Q1 Organic Produce Performance Report utilized Nielsen retail scan data covering total food sales and outlets in the United States over the past 13 weeks, with an extra examination on March sales.