Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The latest report by the Commerce Department’s Statistics & Analysis Division shows a continuing increase in the cost of basic food items in American Samoa, as witnessed by consumers in the past months and they have complained publicly on the high costs.

As of last week, consumers voiced more complaints to Samoa News over the high cost of food as American Samoa remains under restrictions, as COVID-19 community spread continues, prompting residents to buy in bulk certain food items — such as chicken and other types of meat, milk, and saimin noodles.

“Every where you go, stores are crowded and prices are high,” said a mother of four, who noted during a brief interview last Friday that she had to go to four different stores to get what the family needed.

The Commerce Department (DOC) reports in its February 2022 Basic Food Index (BFI) that the trend in BFI and food costs continued “to rapidly climb in the last 12 months”. DOC explained that an annual comparison of the current BFI to the same month of last year shows that basic food costs had increased by 23.7% — an average of about a 2% monthly increase over the past 12 months.

For the month of February, DOC reports that the BFI shows a monthly increase of 1.1% since January 2022. Additionally, all food items — except chicken legs, soft drinks and water — registered price increases in February.

While soda and water remain the same, a 22-pound box of chicken legs dropped two months in a row but still remains above $18, it says.

The higher cost of 17-food items out of 20-food commodities contributed to this 1.1% month-over-month increase.

Month-over-month increases were recorded in banana (8.0%), taro (3.6%), ramen saimin (3.3%), eggs (3.0%), turkey tails (2.1%), bread 2.0%), rice (1.9%), mayonnaise (1.5%), spare ribs (1.5%) canned tuna (1.3%) and others.

A total of 14 major to mid-size retails stores — from Se’etaga on the West side of Tutuila to Amouli on the East — have been selected for monitoring basic food costs.

And DOC emphasized that the BFI is not to be confused with the Quarterly Consumer Price Index, which is a comprehensive standard measure of inflation and the cost of living in American Samoa.