Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — For the month of November, the Basic Food Index (BFI) recorded a 0.4 per cent decline in food prices tracked on Tutuila, according to the report released last week by the Commerce Department’s Statistics Division.  

The BFI reports that eight out of 20 food commodities contributed to November’s decline. The 8 food commodities with price decreases are sugar (-0.2%), butter (-0.3%), fresh fish (-0.4%), eggs (-0.6%), ramen (-0.7%), tuna (-0.8%), pork spare ribs (-0.9%) and chicken legs (-3.4%).

There was also a reciprocal rise in 8 food commodities - rice, taro, banana, ice cream, mayonnaise, turkey tail, soda and sausage. Only 4 food commodities - water, milk, bread, and corned beef - remained unchanged in November.

The trend in BFI and food costs rapid climb from May to September 2022 leveled off over the past three months as we get to the last month of the year. An annual comparison of the current BFI to the same month of last year shows that the overall cost of basic food had increased by 17.3%.

According to DOC, a total of 14 major to mid-sized retail stores have been selected for monitoring basic food costs on Tutuila island — from the far-west side to the far-east side.

Data in the BFI shows a case of chicken in November cost $20.13 a slight decrease from $20.85 in October, while it was $20.56 in September.

For a 12-ounce can of Pepsi, November’s average price was recorded at $1.01 in November, while it was 99 cents in October and 97 cents in September.

Samoa News shared the November data and prices with several shoppers and some of them reply that they believe the cost of a can of Pepsi was higher — close to $1.25 in November and in October a case of chicken was also higher— about $23.

Shoppers once again reiterated their previous concerns and reaffirm their view that the many Asians stores in the villages that are frequented by customers, and should be considered for review by the DOC.