Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The American Samoa Basic Food Index has increased by 1.4% after four months of decline. In January, fifty percent of the monitored food commodities saw a rise in prices.

Among the ten items, fish and chicken led with an increase by more than five percent — fish by 7.8% at $5.14 a pound, and chicken by 5.2% with a 10kg case at $19.27.

Other food products that have increased include eggs (4.6%) $2.52, rice (4.5%) 5 pounds $5.14, bread (1.1%) $3.60, turkey tail (0.8%) $2.53 a pound, sugar (0.6%) $3.63 kg, pork spare ribs (0.5%) $1.89 a pound, corned beef (0.5%) $5.82 a can, and ice cream (0.2%) 2 liters $9.60.

Four items, however, have seen price decreases.

These food items include taro (-3.0%) $2.24 a pound, tuna (-0.8%) $2.35 a can, butter (-0.8%)1/2 pound $5.04, and mayonnaise (-0.2%) $4.96.

Despite fluctuations in prices, soda, milk, water, sausage, bananas, and saimin have remained at the same prices this month.

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

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