Seychelles
Official title
Retail Price Index.
Scope
The index is compiled monthly and relates to households of all income
groups throughout the country.
Official base
March 1986 = 100.
Source of weights
The weights and selected items were derived from a household expenditure
survey conducted between 8 August 1983 and 5 August 1984 covering a
sample of 969 households of all income groups living in the islands of
Mahé, Praslin and La Digue.
Expenditure by all household members was recorded over a two-week
period, and information was provided about the major purchases for the
previous three months. The weights were not adjusted to take
into account price changes between the survey period and 1986.
Weights and composition
| Major groups
| Number of items
| Weights
| Approximate number of price quotations
|
| Fresh fish
| 1 | 5.16 | ...
|
| Other food items
| 90 | 28.90 | ...
|
| Alcoholic drinks and tobacco
| 9 | 18.74 | ...
|
| Clothing and footwear
| 15 | 8.57 | ...
|
| Rent and building costs
| 3 | 11.20 | ...
|
| Fuel, light and water
| 7 | 7.44 | ...
|
| Household goods
| 14 | 5.86 | ...
|
| Personal care
| 16 | 1.63 | ...
|
| Transport and communication
| 14 | 7.63 | ...
|
| Other services and recreation
| 16 | 4.87 | ...
|
| Total
| 185 | 100.00 | ...
|
Household consumption expenditure
Consumption expenditure for the purpose of the index includes almost all
goods and services purchased for consumption by the index population.
It includes car insurance, licence fees and imputed rent for
owner-occupied dwellings. It excludes savings and investment, income
taxes and other direct taxes.
Method of data collection
Prices for most items are collected each month by agents from 22 retail
outlets and markets in Mahé and Praslin. Prices for services are
obtained from their suppliers. Price data refer to the week including
the 15th of the month. Fish prices are collected through direct buying
five times a week. Prices of fruit and vegetables are obtained once a
week.
The prices used to calculate the index are those actually
charged to consumers. Official prices fixed by the
government for items such as fruit and vegetables are also used in the
index calculation.
Housing
Rent data are collected every three months, on a rotating basis, from a
sample of 180 houses, comprising 20 per cent government houses and 80
per cent private houses.
Specification of varieties
The specifications of items to be priced are given in terms of the
variety, quality, type of packaging, make, brand and unit.
Substitution, quality change, etc.
If a product is no longer available, a product similar to the original
is substituted and a method of linking is used.
Seasonal items
The only seasonal item is fish and no adjustment is made.
Computation
The index is computed according to the Laspeyres formula as a weighted
arithmetic average with fixed base, using weights corresponding to
8 August 1983-5 August 1984.
Price relatives are first calculated per item and per outlet, then
the average is computed.
Organisation and publication
Ministry of Finance, Statistics Division: Monthly Statistical
Bulletin - Retail Price Index
(Victoria).