Tomato sales continue to suffer in third quarter   By Tom Karst   (Dec. 23, 4:00 p.m.) Tomatoes continued their struggle to regain retail sales momentum in the third quarter of 2008, according to the Fresh Facts report from the United Fresh Produce Association.   The report, offered at no charge to United Fresh members and for $50 for nonmembers, is the second edition of a quarterly report from Washington, D.C.-based United Fresh and West Dundee, Ill.-based Perishables Group and program sponsor Del Monte Fresh Produce, Coral Gables, Fla.   Patrick Delaney, communications manager for United Fresh, said tomatoes again were in the category spotlight for the report.   The fortunes of the tomato category have been closely watched after the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak earlier this year, he noted. “We felt the impact was wide-felt enough that it merited further examination,” Delaney said. “We hope we have better news to report in the next quarterly report.”   Tomato sales continued to be hampered by in the aftermath of U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisories issued in June, according to the report.   Retail sales of field tomatoes were down in July, August and September compared to year ago levels.   In fact, the report said field tomatoes saw July sales fall 14.7%, with August sales off 5.3% and September sales down 9.2% compared with 2007.   Meanwhile, the report said that roma tomatoes were able to recover more quickly from the FDA advisories, with sales in July falling 5.7% but rising 8.9% in August.   In its overall findings, the Fresh Facts report indicated that total produce sales national side were up about 6% in the third quarter. However, volume sold per store was down 6%.   Third-quarter retail fruit sales were up 5.1% but volume was down 7.4%, the report said. Meanwhile, vegetables were rated up 6.5% in sales and down 4.9% in volume.   The report said increases in average retail prices – 13.6% higher for fruits and 12% higher for vegetables – likely caused consumers to pull back purchases to save money in a challenging economy.   Organic fresh produce was able to maintain growth in both dollars and volume during the third quarter, the report said. Organic fresh fruit sales in the third quarter were up 18% in value and 7.3% higher in volume while organic vegetable showed sales growth of 16% with a 12.6% volume bump.   Among fruit category trends, the report noted that berries led the fruit category in weekly dollar sales per store, with sales up 10% compared with year-ago levels while volume was 2.5% higher.   Bananas showed a 20% jump in sales in the third quarter, as the 22.8% increase in average prices was met by only a 1.7% decline in volume.   In the vegetable category, Fresh Facts reported that packaged salad sales showed a 2.3% increase in sales but a 4.5% decrease in volume. Prices for packaged salad were up 7.1% compared with year ago levels, the report sailed.   Potato sales were up 24% in the third quarter, reflecting average prices that were 30% higher than a year ago. Volume of potatoes moved in the third quarter was down 4.5%.   Fresh Facts found that fruit sold in jars and cups rose 13% in dollars and 22% in volume during the third quarter, but fresh cut fruit sales were off 4.4% in volume and 0.8% in sales.   E-mail Tom Karst