Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — American Samoa's Basic Food Index (BFI) continues to decline for the third consecutive month. Eggs contributed significantly to the decline with a -21.6% decrease. Over the past few months, egg costs have slowly gone down and now stand at $3.04 a dozen.

 Other food commodities have decreased including chicken (-1.7%) 10 lb case for $18.99, milk (-1.6%) $2.51, rice (-1.4%) 5 lbs $4.92, sugar (-1.3%) 2 kg $3.66, ice cream (-1.2%) $9.43, mayonnaise (-0.8%) $4.95, and tuna (-0.8% $2.39).

Food commodities that have increased in price include saimin (3.4%) 61¢, banana (2.5%) $1.62 lb, turkey tail (2.5%) $2.44 lb, pork spare ribs (2.1%) $1.91, taro (2.1%) $2.38 lb, corned beef (1.0%) $5.78, butter (0.6%) $4.99, fish (0.4%) $4.98 lb, and bread (0.3%) $3.60.

Some food items that have remained constant this month are soda, sausage, and water.

The Basic Food Index is a monthly rapid assessment of basic food items, to monitor the cost and availability of these 20 food products throughout the community.

The BFI is not to be confused with the Quarterly Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is a comprehensive standard measure of inflation and the cost of living in American Samoa. A major upgrade to the survey coverage was implemented at the beginning of 2022, when 7 additional stores were included in the data collection process, extending coverage from Se'etaga in the West to Amouli in the East.

In total, 14 major to mid-size retail stores have been selected for the monitoring of basic food costs.