Saint Lucia
Official title
Consumer Price Index.
Scope
The index is computed monthly and relates to urban, sub-urban and rural
households.
Official base
April 1984 = 100.
Source of weights
The weights were derived from household expenditure surveys conducted
during September-November 1982 in the Castries Administration Area, the
capital city of St. Lucia, among a sample of 170 urban, 157 sub-urban
and 154 rural households. The weights were not adjusted to take into
account price changes between the survey period and the base period.
Weights and composition
| Major groups
| Number of items
| Weights
| Approximate number of price quotations
|
| Food
| 77 | 467.51 | ...
|
| Beverages and tobacco
| 5 | 28.17 | ...
|
| Clothing and footwear
| 16 | 64.97 | ...
|
| Housing
| 7 | 135.34 | ...
|
| Fuel and light
| 4 | 44.95 | ...
|
| Furniture and household operation
| 11 | 57.71 | ...
|
| Medical care
| 6 | 22.78 | ...
|
| Transport and communication
| 10 | 63.48 | ...
|
| Recreation
| 6 | 32.36 | ...
|
| Miscellaneous
| 26 | 82.73 | ...
|
| Total
| 168 | 1000.00 | ...
|
Household consumption expenditure
The classification scheme conforms with the SNA classification of
household final consumption expenditure.
Method of data collection
Prices are collected by agents once a month, on the second Tuesday,
from supermarkets, retail outlets and service establishments.
Electricity rates are obtained by mail questionnaires. Telephone and
water rates are collected by telephone and other services by personal
visits. Officers of the Statistics Office obtain item prices, brands,
quality, unit, etc. from retail outlets. Prices of these basket
items
were collected over a period of four months and from the data
collected the pricing outlets were selected.
Housing
Rent quotations for houses are collected every six months. No account
is taken of owner-occupied housing in the index.
Specification of varieties
Each item has detailed specifications, such as the unit, brand, quality,
etc.
Substitution, quality change, etc.
If an item disappears from the market, another item is selected and the
weight remains the same but the base price is adjusted.
Seasonal items
Seasonal items are not included in the index.
Computation
The index is computed according to the Laspeyres formula as a weighted
arithmetic average with fixed base, using weights corresponding to
September-November 1982.
Other information
The index is calculated by the Government Statistical Department,
Castries.
Organisation and publication
Government Printer: The St.Lucia Gazette
(Castries).