In 2009, total industry produce department sales reached $49 billion, up from $47.9 billion in 2008, with produce department share of store sales at 12 percent (the same this year as it was last year). These findings come from Progressive Grocer’s 2010 Annual Produce Operations Review, which was published in the October 2010 issue. Average weekly sales per store last year for the produce department were $26,623 with average annual sales per store of $1,384,415. Both represented slight increases from 2008.

In terms of problems facing supermarket produce departments, the biggest problem identified by retail executives who responded to the survey was competition from other retailers/retail formats. (Does it not remind you about heavy competition organize retailers face in India from pushcarts, small corner f+v shops or weekly bazars). It was followed by profits, shrink/spoilage, quality, wholesale prices, food safety, and transportation costs. Other challenges noted were training of employees/labor costs, and customer satisfaction/attracting new shoppers.

When it comes to figuring out consumer behavior, PMA members were asked to take a look at their brand-new 2010 study titled Identifying Consumer Trends in the Produce Category. More than a third of shoppers told PMA execs that they’ve purchased more fruits and vegetables this year than they did last, and those shoppers who rely on fresh fruits and vegetables for 85 percent or more of their purchases (rather than on frozen or canned) were more likely to increase their fresh produce purchases overall.

Let us prey and hope, the light of these small Diwali lamps be the harbinger of joy and prosperity. As the holy occasion of Diwali is here and the atmosphere is filled with the spirit of mirth and love, here’s hoping this festival of beauty brings your way, bright sparkles of contentment, that stay with you through the days ahead.

Best wishes on Diwali and New year

Competent Agrisolutions Pvt Ltd announces its strategic partnership with the Netherlands based company, Omnivent, as their sole representative for India and neighboring countries.
 
Active all over the world, Omnivent is specialist in the development, manufacturing and installation of modern ventilation and climate technology systems for storage of agricultural produce like Potato, Onion and Carrots etc.

The power of Omnivent lies in the well-thought storage concepts. Whether new projects or the renovation of existing ones, Omnivent’s specialists work out a design for specific situations. Omnivent offers a total package. Right from first draft to the final implementation. Or shall we say "from design to return on investment". Read more about Omnivent at

Just sharing a powerful video from Resource Interactive shown at the Shop.org Annual Summit on how mobile, social media and geolocation will change shopping. Forever. Click here

Few weeks ago, Bruce Peterson of Wal-Mart said that advance in frozen vegetables represent a threat to the fresh produce industry in US.  How does the fresh produce industry respond to this threat, a keen industry observer asked?

Some lateral thinking on the subject.

Let’s face it. Freezing fresh fruit and vegetables is a highly energy intensive industry. Though a dated report, according to the U. S. Census Bureau, the U.S. had 235 frozen fruit, juice, and vegetable processing facilities in 2002 which consumed an estimated 2,925,970,000 kWh of electricity, and had energy costs totaling more than $276 million (includes electricity and other fuels).

Flavors and other advances notwithstanding, growth of frozen fruit and vegetables in foreseeable future shall be driven by the energy availability, cost and its alternate uses. Capitalizing on this fact through advertisements is perhaps the best defense to respond to this threat. Let’s fresh produce industry join hands to have an ‘energy efficiency brigade’ do this job.

Freezing also changes the market dynamics for fresh produce. If it is not for freezing at peak availability, market prices for fresh shall remain low, rather dirt cheap. Low prices in turn shall ensure better availability of fresh in the market place and thereby, increased consumption due to lower prices. Price / demand elasticity for few commodities shall play it role here. A good copy writer or a social activist can capitalize on this situation and build some campaign for a consumer education campaign.

Having said above, job building potential by frozen F&V industry is well appreciated. So this lateral thinking is to be considered only in view of the greater macro economic picture.