Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Statistics & Analysis Division of the local Dept. of Commerce is reporting that the Basic Food Index (BFI) for American Samoa rose 0.9% the first month of 2025 and has been on an increasing trend since August 2024.

As expected, egg prices continue to rise due to a bird flu outbreak in the U.S. mainland. In American Samoa, a dozen was $3.78 for December and ramped up to $4.35 (15.1%) in January.

Eight other food commodities played a part in the increase: sausage per lb. at $2.18 (0.5%), a pound of turkey tails also increased now at $2.07 (0.5%), fresh milk $2.54 (0.8%), ice cream $9.51 (1.2%), 1/2 lb. butter $4.73 (1.5%), 2 kg. sugar $3.82 (1.6%), loaf of bread $3.58 (1.7%), 5 lbs. rice $5.29 (1.9%).

And the good news is, 7 food items' prices went down: mayonnaise $4.86 (-0.2%), a 10kg case of chicken $19.63 (-0.9%), soft drinks $1.12 a can (-0.9%), pork spare ribs $1.87 (-1.1%), corned beef $5.46 (-2.0%), fresh fish $4.96 (-2.2%), and taro $2.24 lb (-3.9%).

Remaining unchanged this month are, water, saimin, and tuna.

The Basic Food Index (BFI) is a monthly rapid assessment of basic food items to monitor the cost and availability of these 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 seven (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, fourteen (14) major to mid-size retail stores have been selected for the monitoring of basic food costs.