French Guiana (Cayenne)
Official title
Indice des prix à la consommation (Consumer Price Index).
Scope
The index is compiled monthly and relates to urban lower-income
group households in Cayenne.
Official base
1980 = 100.
Source of weights
The weights and selected items were derived from a household expenditure
survey conducted in 1969 in Cayenne and Kourou.
Weights and composition
| Major groups
| Number of items
| Weights
| Approximate number of price quotations
|
| Food
| ... | 50.0 | ...
|
| Housing (incl. fuel, light and water)
| ... | 19.5 | ...
|
| Clothing and footwear
| ... | 8.4 | ...
|
| Hygiene, health and services
| ... | 7.6 | ...
|
| Transport and communications
| ... | 6.1 | ...
|
| Education and recreation
| ... | 4.9 | ...
|
| Other services
| ... | 3.5 | ...
|
| Total
| ... | 100.0 | ...
|
Household consumption expenditure
Not available.
Method of data collection
Prices are collected by agents from 46 retail outlets and 15
service establishments. The frequency of price collection
depends on the nature of the item. Prices for fruit and
vegetables are ascertained each week, other food items are priced
once a month. Prices for manufactured items and for services are
collected quarterly. No account is taken of sale prices.
Housing
Rent quotations are obtained each quarter from one company
specialising in renting dwellings (covering 1,840 dwellings).
Specification of varieties
For each item a list of varieties was given by INSEE. The
pricing agents select the most appropriate variety, &ie commonly
sold and available for future pricing. The specification of the
selected product is then noted in terms of the brand, make,
quality and size, etc.
Substitution, quality change, etc.
If the quality of an item changes, it is considered as a new
item. It is introduced in the index calculation only when it is
available on the market for some months.
Seasonal items
Seasonal fluctuations in the prices of certain vegetables are taken
into account by using moving averages in the computation of the
index.
Computation
The index is computed according to the Laspeyres formula as a
weighted arithmetic average with fixed base, using weights
corresponding to the base period.
Organisation and publication
INSEE, Service régional de la Guyane: Bulletin Mensuel de
Statistique
(Cayenne).
Idem: Annuaire de la Guyane
.