For the second year in a row, organic berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries) took the top sales spot of the category, raking in $1.66 billion in 2023 and growing 6% from the prior year, Organic Produce Network reports. 

Overall organic produce sales in the U.S. reached $9.6 billion in 2023, up 1.6% from the prior year, according to data from the State of Organic Produce 2023 report. 

In terms of volume, organic bananas took the top spot with 538 million pounds sold, while berries took second place with a volume of 251 million pounds.

The report indicated that organic berries had a price premium of 56% over conventional, indicating consumers were willing to pay significantly more for the organic version of these fruits.

Source: State of Organic Produce 2023 report

Apples

Organic apple sales suffered a small year-over-year sales decline of -0.9% in 2023. 

The West was the only region to post a year-over-year sales gain (0.9%) in organic apples in 2023, while the Northeast and the Midwest were tied for the widest volume loss of −4.1%.

Additionally, with a 47% price premium over conventional, organic apples demonstrated that consumers were willing to pay considerably more for the organic version of this staple fruit.

Bananas

Organic bananas are part of the top 3 main organic fruits sold in the U.S. 

The report states that the sector showed a healthy year-over-year sales increase of 4.3% in 2023, significantly outpacing the 1.6% growth of the overall organic produce category. 

The sector is facing a lot of backlash over regulations and working conditions, which have kept prices low for decades. 

"Bananas are the most popular and cheapest fruit in our basket, thanks to other invisible-to-us people (small growers, plantation
workers) subsidizing our fruit through low wages, poor working conditions, and environmental shortcuts. We reject this historical model and are working to change deeply ingrained mindsets on banana pricing," said Jennie Coleman, president of Equifruit. 

Avocados

Avocados, which ranked #12 in sales showed weak year-over-year sales performance in 2023, declining −6.6% with total sales of $249 million. 

On the volume side of things, the category fared much better, with an increase of 4.9% with 70 million pounds sold. Organic
avocados managed to hold on to a solid price premium over conventional in 2023, up four percentage points from the prior year to 56%.

Source: State of Organic Produce 2023 report

Download the full report here.