As inflation continues to trouble shoppers in 2023’s first quarter, the Organic Produce Network  (OPN) reports a 2.6% rise year-on-year in dollar sales for the produce segment.

However, according to the Q1 2023 Organic Produce Performance Report, volume for the total produce category declined by 1.3%.

“In an inflationary period, we see this standard of growth for dollars and decline for volume repeated for most organic and conventional items,” said Tom Barnes, CEO of Category Partners.

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“When we look at pricing, conventional produce average price per pound grew by 4.3%compared to the first quarter of 2022, while average price for organics per pound rose by 4%.”

As for organic produce, the report notes that overall dollar sales grew by slightly less than 1% while volume declined by 3% year-on-year.

Sales for the segment totaled nearly $2.4 billion for the first quarter of 2023, while overall volume topped 703 million pounds.

Prepackaged salads and the berry category, including strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries led the quarter as the top organic categories in dollars, accounting for nearly 40% of all sales.

The report also states that “the average price gap between conventional and organic is now the largest it has been in the last four years”.