Suriname (Paramaribo)
Official title
Consumer Price Index.
Scope
The index is compiled monthly and covers households of
wage earners and salaried employees with an annual income not
exceeding 6,000 florins from April 1968 to March 1969. The index
relates to the capital city, Paramaribo.
Official base
April 1968-March 1969 = 100.
Source of weights
The weights and selected items were derived from a household expenditure
survey conducted from April 1968 to March 1969 in Paramaribo and its
surroundings, covering 592 households of wage earners and salaried
employees of three or more persons, with an annual income not exceeding
6,000 florins at the time of the survey. The index items were selected
on the basis of two criteria: the items were important in household
consumption and they were purchased by most of the households.
Weights and composition
| Major groups
| Number of items
| Weights
| Approximate number of price quotations
|
| Food
| 92 | 39.9 | 1252
|
| Housing:
|
| Rent, water and electricity
| 3 | 9.5 | 3
|
| Fuel
| 4 | 1.9 | 20
|
| Furniture, furnishings and cleaning materials
| 36 | 12.3 | 400
|
| Clothing and footwear
| 48 | 11.0 | 252
|
| Other:
|
| Personal and medical care
| 23 | 6.2 | 251
|
| Transport
| 5 | 9.5 | 10
|
| Tobacco
| 2 | 1.3 | 46
|
| Education and recreation
| 16 | 8.4 | 104
|
| Total
| 229 | 100.0 | 2338
|
Household consumption expenditure
Consumption expenditure for the purpose of the index comprises
all goods and services purchased or received for consumption by
the index population. It includes the value of goods and
services received by households as income in kind, and
home-produced goods consumed by households. It excludes income
tax, social security contributions, repayment of loans, insurance
premiums, gifts and contributions, betting and gambling, major
improvements to the home and payments on mortgage principal,
other investments, savings and interest on personal debts.
Method of data collection
Prices are collected by a team of interviewers from 125 selected
retail stores and service establishments in Paramaribo and its
surroundings. After 1969, new outlets were chosen and various
goods and services were standardised. Prices for scarce goods
and blackmarket prices are collected by interviewing 150 to 200
households per month. The price interviewers follow the prices of
most of the items each month, between the first and the 30th of the
month. The prices of fresh fruit and vegetables are collected
three times a week (on Monday, Wednesday and Friday) in the
Central Market and vegetable markets
in Paramaribo and its
surroundings. Fourteen price quotations are obtained for each item
per day.
Specification of varieties
Detailed specifications are provided for each item included in
the index. A specification provides a complete description of
the item, its brand, name or trade mark, type of packing,
quality, unit, etc.
Substitution, quality change, etc.
If an item disappears from the market, it is substituted by a
similar item.
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 the base period.
Organisation and publication
Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek, Prijsindexcijfers van de
Gezinsconsumptie
(Paramaribo).
Stichting Planbureau: Basis Budget van Consumptieve
Huishouduitgaven in Paramaribo en Omgeving 1968-69
(Paramaribo).