The Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs is notifying the public of its latest market basket survey findings, which was completed during the last week of July. The market basket survey is comprised of items from the traditional food basket in addition to household and hygienic items. The number of items compared on each island varies as a result of comparison guidelines which require that products are identical in order to produce a valid survey.
St. Croix On St. Croix four stores were surveyed: Pueblo Golden Rock and La Reine, and Plaza Extra stores in Christiansted and Frederiksted. A total of 24 of the same items were compared at each location. The difference between the highest and lowest priced basket for July was $13.51.
The lowest priced market basket was found at Plaza Extra’s Christiansted location at a cost of $54.69. Plaza Extra’s Frederiksted location came in second with a market basket cost of $56.28. Pueblo’s La Reine location came in third with a market basket cost of $61.92. Closing out the survey in fourth place was Pueblo’s Golden Rock location at a market basket cost of $68.20.
Some items making up the market basket for St. Croix include: cereal, flour, sugar, eggs, butter, fruits, milk, chicken wings, green beans and seasoning.