Organic Produce Continues to Command Price Premium

By: Lydia Oberholtzer, Carolyn Dimitri, and Catherine Greene
Publication: Outlook Report No. (VGS30801) 22 pp, May 2005

An outlook report published by the USDA Economic Research Service in May says that price premiums for organic produce are continuing, even as the organic market expands. Price Premiums Hold on as U.S. Organic Produce Market Expands examines trends in organic prices and market margins for broccoli, carrots, and mesclun mix. The data show that, while organic wholesale price premiums for mesclun mix are narrowing, wholesale and farmgate premiums for broccoli and carrots remain strong.

The data from the report, with monthly organic farmgate and wholesale prices for broccoli, carrots and mesclun mix, are available online at http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/vgs/may05/vgs30801/.