Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Basic Food Index (BFI) for American Samoa has reported a monthly increase of 0.8% for July 2026.

A jump in price for ten food items, led by turkey tails contributed to the 0.8% increase, according to the BFI report released this week by the Commerce Department’s Statistics & Analysis Division.

The rise in the index is attributed to higher prices for ten food items, including turkey tails (5.7%) $2,60, ice cream (3.3%) $9.91, sugar (2.3%) $3.58, taro (2.3%) $2.18, eggs (2.2%) $1.89, pork spareribs (2.1 %) $1.96, tuna (1.3%) $2.39, chicken (0.4%) 10 Kg case $19.82, fish (0.4%) $5.21, and corned beef (0.2%) $5.86 a can.

In contrast, five food items have declined slightly. These include prices for soft drinks (-1.8%) $1.10, rice (-1.4%) 5 lbs $4.93, bananas (-1.3%) $1.56 lb, milk (-0.4%) $2.59, and butter (-0.4%) $4.98.

Meanwhile, prices for water, sausage, saimin, bread, and mayonnaise have remained broadly stable this month despite the shifting prices.

The BFI is a monthly rapid assessment of basic food items, to monitor the cost and availability of these 20 food products throughout the community. This month, the index averaged 163.9 points, which is an increase of 1.4 points from last month, and 4.5 points lower than its level in July 2025.

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.