Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Basic Food Index (BFI) has experienced a decline for the third consecutive month, dropping by -0.4%.

The decrease was influenced by several food commodities, including sugar (-4.6%), turkey tail (-4.4%), ribs (-4.3%), soda (-3.2%), taro (-2.8%), banana (-1.3%), corned beef (-1.2%), chicken legs (-0.7%), ramen (-0.7%), and ice cream (-0.6%).

Turkey tails are down 10¢ to $2.01 per lb, while pork spare ribs dropped 8¢ to $1.88, corned beef is down 6¢ at $5.50 and 10kg case of chicken legs is $18.15.

In the recent month, various food commodities experienced price increases, with eggs rising by 5.9%, sausage by 3.8%, rice by 2.3%, butter by 1.4%, fish by 1.0%, tuna by 0.6%, bread by 0.4%, and mayonnaise by 0.2%.

After making a big drop last month eggs are back up to $2.93 after dropping to $2.77 last month from a high of $3.22 in May.

Notably, water and milk were the sole commodities that maintained stable prices throughout this period.

Food prices are expected to continue to decelerate in 2024 compared to recent years.

The Basic Food Index (BFI) serves as a monthly evaluation of essential food items aimed at tracking the pricing and availability of a specified set of 20 food products across the community. It is important to note that the BFI should not be conflated with the Quarterly Consumer Price Index (CPI), which represents a comprehensive benchmark for measuring inflation and the overall cost of living in American Samoa.

A significant enhancement to the survey's scope was introduced at the start of 2022, with the inclusion of seven additional stores in the data collection process. This expansion extended the coverage area from Se'etaga in the West to Amouli in the East. Currently, a total of 14 prominent to moderate-sized retail establishments have been designated for monitoring basic food expenses.