The March Basic Food Index, which monitors the prices of 20 food products at 14 retail stores, dropped 0.8% from February’s BFI.
The price of eight food products dropped last month, with the biggest drop in the cost of rice by 4.6%
A 5 lb. bag of rice sold for $5.24 in February, but last month the price dropped to $5. The price of eggs dropped 2.8%. In February, a dozen of small eggs cost $2.49 but dropped to $2.42 in March. Other food items, which cost less in March than in February, were saimin—down 1.6%, milk and turkey tails— down 1.2%, chicken—down 0.9%, mayonnaise—down 0.4%, and corned beef—down 0.3%
The cost of seven food items increased. The highest increase was the price of sausage which jumped 2.7%. A 16 oz package of Chuck Wagon sausage was $2.23 in February, and last month it was $2.29
The price of sugar went up 2.6%. In February, a 2 kilogram package of sugar was $3.49 and last month it cost $3.58.
The price of ice cream jumped 2.3%, soda was up 0.9%, fish up 0.8%, taro went up 0.5%, and the price of butter went up 0.3%
Food items whose prices remained the same include water, pork spareribs, banana, tuna, and bread.
