Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Basic Food Index report for May, released Wednesday by the Commerce Department’s Statistic Division shows that while the cost of turkey tails continues to increase, the price of other popular food items decrease. Overall the cost of basic food in May dropped by 0.5%.

According to the BFI report, at the end of May, five out of 20 food items showed a drop in cost compared to April. For example, 22-pound box of chicken dropped by about 5%, an average of $15.50 in April compared to $14.35 in May.

Imported taro dropped by about 1%; eggs and butter decreased by about half a percent each, and mayonnaise with a 0.2% drop.

“On the other hand, the cost of turkey tails has continued to increase since July 2020. The average cost of a pound of turkey tails is now $1.64 compared to 98 cents in July,” the report says.

Representatives of three stores who spoke with Samoa News yesterday morning say they and other stores are selling turkey tails just around $1.80 to $2 a pound and could it be higher at other stores, as more turkey tail cases are being bought here and sent by customers to their family members in Apia, Samoa.

According to the BFI report for May, other food commodities that went up in May were a can of corned beef, rice, bread, canned tuna and a 16 ounce package of sausage. The rest of the food items, where seven local major food outlets were surveyed, remained unchanged in May.