Carrot is No. 1 vegetable

THE humble carrot has won the most important popularity contest of all - it's Australia's favourite vegetable.

A new industry survey has found that almost two out of every three households in the country included carrots in their weekly shop between January and March this year.

And that makes them the new consumer favourite.

But it was a close run thing.

Carrots came out just ahead of potatoes in second place, while tomatoes, the former No.1, dropped back to third.

The Veginsights: The Market Q1 report found Australians spent a whopping $1.65 billion on fresh, frozen and canned vegetables in the three months ending March.

But that was about $2 less a week per household than the previous quarter, when entertaining during the festive season was at its peak.

The report by industry body Ausveg provides a regular snapshot into how Australians purchase their food.

Households are sticking to their routine of two to four grocery shops each week, which includes an average $18.80 spend on vegies, and eating take-away another two or three times a week.

Food purchases in general increased over the March quarter by 1.7 per cent to $163, with supermarkets reaping more business over smaller specialist grocers.