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The price of fruit and vegetables, which had soared by 25% from 2021 to 2023, has generally fallen in 2024 compared to the previous year, announced Tuesday the consumer protection association Familles rurales, which carries out price surveys in supermarkets every year.
Examples: “conventional” yellow lemons (i.e. not from organic farming) 19% cheaper than in June 2023, conventional carrots down 14%, and even vine tomatoes whose price has dropped from 2.57 to 1.78 euros, a price decrease of 31%.
Fruits and vegetables are generally cheaper this year than a year earlier, but there are counter-examples, such as cucumbers, apricots and lettuce, according to price surveys carried out by volunteers from the Familles rurales association.
In this case, 118 price surveys were carried out from June 7 to 22 in the aisles of hypermarkets, supermarkets, discounters and organic specialist stores in 42 French departments.
Overall, the average prices of conventional fruits and vegetables fell by 5% and 9% respectively, and those of organic vegetables fell by 3%.
“Organic” fruits are 2% more expensive than the previous year. But this last average is “distorted” by the sharp increase in the price of cherries, 22% more expensive than a year earlier.By removing it, the average price of organic fruit drops by 4%“, observes Rural Families.
The one-year declines do not compensate for the surges of previous years. And the long-term trend is worrying in the eyes of the association: over ten years, “The price of fruits has increased by almost 50% and that of vegetables by more than 67%“, while “the average salary per head has only increased by 22%”.
Rural families also evoke a “worrying decline in fruit and vegetable consumption“, of the order of 8% between 2020 and 2023 “whatever the socio-professional category”.
Eating at least 400 grams of fruit and vegetables per day per person, in accordance with public health recommendations, costs in France each month between 66 euros (by choosing only the least expensive fruit and vegetables produced using conventional agriculture) and 241 euros by eating “all organic”, the association calculated.