
The Basic Food Index for American Samoa had a slight decrease of 0.3% in May.
This decline is primarily attributed to falling prices for ten specific food items.
Rice and sausages dropped 3.7%, fresh fish declined 2.3%, bananas were down 2.0%, saimin dropped 1.8%, corned beef fell 1.3%, sugar dropped 1.1%, chicken decreased 1.0%, bread was down 0.8%, and pork spare ribs dropped 0.5%
However, not all prices are following this downward trend. Some items have increased in price over the past month, including taro, which shot up 8.0%.
In April, a pound of taro cost $2.12, but last month it increased to $2.29 per pound.
The price of butter went up 2.5%, fresh milk increased by 2.4%, the price of turkey tails rose 1.0%, soft drinks went up 0.9%, eggs increased 0.8 %, and both tuna and ice cream saw a 0.4% rise.
According to the Department of Commerce, the price of a dozen small eggs was $4.83 in March, jumped to $7.22 in April, and increased slightly to $7.28 in May.
Food items whose prices remained unchanged are mayonnaise and bottled water.