Saint Lucia: Technical Assistance Report-Report on Price Accounts Mission Developing and Updating Producer Price Indexes (September 9–20, 2024)

A Technical Assistance (TA) mission, supported by the Caribbean Technical Assistance Center (CARTAC), was conducted from September 9–20, 2024, to assist Saint Lucia’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) in developing new Producer Price Indexes (PPIs) for the industries of mining, manufacturing, utilities, and construction, and updating the existing PPI for accommodation and food services. Reliable PPIs are critical for improving GDP estimates at constant prices, which will replace the current use of consumer price indices. Progress has been made, with updated index coverage and weights based on 2023 Value Added Tax (VAT) data, and improvements following pilot data collection and company visits. The CSO is encouraged to strengthen collaboration with the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and National Insurance Corporation (NIC), as administrative data are vital given the absence of recent economic census data. The mission helped resolve VAT data classification issues with the IRD, which committed to providing improved datasets and business names. Continued engagement with the IRD is important for both PPI development and broader national statistical improvements. The next steps are to finalize activity weights based on 2023 VAT data, complete initial data collection for PPI for industrial activities, and calculate an experimental PPI for industrial activities.