In the week before Halloween, cash registers will ring up nearly $2.23 billion in candy sales, 600 million pounds of every confection imaginable for the nine out of 10 kids who will be ringing doorbells Saturday night.

For the biggest sugar rush of the year, Halloween candy sales are expected to nudge up 1.8 percent over last year, said Susan Fussell, spokeswoman for the National Confectioners Association. Landing on a Saturday this year only ups the opportunity for more celebrating, more candy, Fussell said.

Halloween, the industry's biggest candy selling holiday, ushers in a series of significant candy dates ending with Easter, which makes Saturday night's largess at the front door a harbinger for the season.

There's reason for optimism in the industry, Fussell said. Candy sales overall are up 3 percent, despite the anemic economy, she said, and even in the thick of the recession last Halloween, candy sales inched upward. About seven of 10 households plan to turn on the light for trick-or-treaters, spending an average of $18 on candy, the National Retail Federation said.

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