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What are the prices of fruits and vegetables?

Prices for fruits and vegetables vary enpormously, by region, store, brand and form (fresh, canned, frozen, etc.). According to the USDA, per pound fruit prices ranged from 32 cents per pound for fresh watermelon to $4.00 per pound for prunes. Vegetables prices ranged from 31 cents per pound for fresh potatoes to $4.57 per pound for frozen asparagus spears. For curent seasonal prices from our surveys of real farmer's markets, see this page.

Most Current Fruit and Vegetable Prices in March 2024

How much do fruits and vegetables cost in March 2024? The USDA's Economic Research Service tracks prices for many commonly consumed fresh and processed fruits and vegetables.

Reported estimates include each product's average retail price per pound and per edible cup equivalent (the unit of measurement for Federal fruit and vegetable consumption recommendations). Those two measures are commonly used aince, for many fruits and vegetables, a 1-cup equivalent equals the weight of enough edible food to fill a measuring cup.

Relative comparisons - How much does fresh fruit cost to buy?

ABove are the links to the current (last week) data. The rest of this page shows trends and relative comparisons. The most recent charts available are a good 17 years old now, (so again. for any give fruit or vegetable, to see today's most current prices, see this page. Or see the other links above. Having said that, the costs of one fruit or vegetable relative to another are stiull valid.

So, that said, see Figure 1a at right; in dollars per pound The weighted average price for all fresh fruit was $0.71 per pound and the price difference between the most and least expensive item was $3.62 per pound. The range is from the low end starting weith Watemelon Bananas Grapefruit Cantaloupe Honeydew Oranges Papaya Mangoes Apples Pears Kiwi Tangelos Peaches Tangerines Nectarines Avocados Plums Grapes Pineapple Strawberries Apricots Blueberries Cherries to the mosty expensive, Raspberries and Blackberries. After adjusting for waste and serving size (because a pound provides anywhere from 2 to 14 servings), the ranking remains the same, the price per serving for fresh fruits drops to a range of 11 cents a serving for apples and watermelon to 66 cents a serving for blackberries..

How much do Americans pay for canned fruits and vegetables

Canned fruits ranged in price from 19 cents per serving for unsweetened applesauce to 92 cents for canned blackberries (fig. 2b). Even though only 5 of the 16 canned fruits were priced at 25 cents or less per serving, the weighted-average price for all canned fruit was 24 cents per serving. This was due to the high volume of less expensive canned fruit (canned apples/applesauce, pineapples, peaches, and pears). Our nine different types of frozen fruits ranged in price from $1.24 for a pound of frozen papaya to $3.39 for a pound of frozen raspberries, with a weighted-average price of $2.04 per pound (fig. 3a). Four of the nine types of frozen fruit were below the weighted-average price and five were above. The four cheapest frozen fruits accounted for nearly three quarters of all frozen fruit purchased. Frozen fruit are the most expensive form of fruits by serving, with a weighted-average price of 51 cents per serving (fig. 3b). Interestingly, frozen raspberries, the most expensive frozen fruit to buy, dropped to fifth cheapest to eat, at 54 cents per serving. Counting shelf-stable, refrigerated, and frozen versions for each of the seven fruit juices separately, prices for the 15 items ranged from 36 cents per pint for unsweetened, frozen apple juice to 74 cents per pint for shelf-stable cranberry juice, with a weighted-average price of 53 cents per pint (fig 4a). Price per serving varied little among the different fruit juices (fig. 4b), with 13

How much does canned fruit cost to buy?

See Figure 2a Dollars per pound Packed in juice or water. Unsweetened/unflavored. Source: ACNielsen Homescan, 1999. The weighted average price for all canned fruit was $0.90 per pound and the price difference between the most and least expensive item was $2.05 per pound. The four cheapest frozen fruits accounted for nearly three quarters of all frozen fruit purchased. Frozen fruit are the most expensive form of fruits by serving, with a weighted-average price of 51 cents per serving (fig. 3b).

The five cheapest vegetables - potatoes, cabbage, whole carrots, onions, and sweet potatoes - accounted for 62 percent of all fresh vegetable purchases by weight.

How Much Do Americans Pay for Fruits and Vegetables /How much do fresh vegeables cost to buy?

Figure 6a Dollars per pound Source: ACNielsen Homescan data, 1999.

The weighted average price for all fresh vegetables was $0.64 per pound and the price difference between the most and least expensive item was $2.67 per pound.

How much do fresh vegeables cost to eat?

See Figure 6b Dollar per serving Source: ACNielsen Homescan data, 1999. Converted to servings using factors obtained from The Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs U.S. Department of Agriculture, FoodHow much do fresh vegeables cost to eat? and Nutrition Service, revised November 2001.

How much do canned vegetables cost to buy?

See Figure 7a Dollars per pound for plain/regular, canned vegetables Source: ACNielsen Homescan data, 1999. The price difference between the most and least expensive item was about $4/lb. per pound. Consumers who believe that canned vegetables are the best bargain might be surprised that they can save 81 cents on their homemade pizza by using a serving each of fresh onions and fresh, sliced mushrooms rather than a serving each of the canned equivalents. And a serving of frozen sweet corn was 33 cents cheaper per serving than fresh corn on the cob. On the other hand, a serving of frozen spinach was 20 cents more expensive than a serving of fresh spinach. In summary, whether fresh, frozen, or canned, all 85 of the vegetables we priced were less than a dollar per serving, only three cost more than 75 cents a serving, and more than half were less than a quarter. 22 H

References

  1. USDA Economic Research - Price data
  2. USDA ERS - How expensive are fruits and vegetables
  3. USDA Ag census Fruits, Tree Nuts, and Berries
  4. USDA Raspberries-Average retail price per pound and per cup equivalent
  5. USDA Fruit and Vegetable Prices
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