Candy and Flowers for Valentine's?

Planning on sending some of these traditional Valentine's Day presents to that special someone next week? Join the crowd. The Census Bureau and the Department of Agriculture offer these interesting facts about the production and sale of these treats from their datafiles:

• U.S. firms producing chocolate and cocoa products shipped $13.9 billion worth in 2004, and in 2005 the per capita consumption of candy by Americans was 25.7 pounds. There were 3,267 confectionery and nut stores in business in the U.S. in 2004.
• The wholesale value of domestically-produced cut flowers in 2005 was $397 million, with $39 million coming from the sale of roses. In 2004, there were 21, 667 florists nationwide. Surely one is conveniently located for you!

For information on other commodities, as well as all kinds of other statistics, visit the Census Bureau and the National Agricultural Statistics Service.