In case you haven’t noticed, you’re buying less food with more money.
The Basic Food Index released by the Department of Commerce shows that when compared to the same period last year, basic food costs have increased 20.4% or about 1.7% monthly over the past 12 months.
At the beginning of this year, DOC added seven stores in the data collection, extending BFI coverage from Se’etaga in the West to Amouli in the East.
In total, fourteen (14) major to mid-size retail stores have been selected for monitoring basic food costs.
14 out of 20 food items, all registered price, increases for the BFI survey.
The highest month over month increase was the price of bananas at 16.8%, then eggs 4.2%, sausage 2.7% and saimin at 2.1%. The month to month price increase of rice was 1.9%.
Meanwhile the price of a 22-lb case of chicken legs dropped three months in a row from $18 to $17. Mayonnaise and water also recorded price reductions of -0.6% and -1.4% respectively. The price of turkey tail, soda, and bread remained the same in this quarter.
