Continued Price Increases in Iran; Legumes Up 120%, Pasta and Rice Quadrupled

As various commodity prices, particularly food items, continue to rise in Iran, an activist in the legume sector has reported increases of up to 120 percent in these products over the past year.

Abdi Eftekhari, secretary of the Iran Legume Association, said on Monday, April 1st, that the average price of one kilogram of legumes in Iran was 50,000 to 75,000 tomans over the past year, adding that prices of some of these products have increased between 70 to 120 percent.

Eftekhari further noted that following the announcement by the Supreme Economic Council that legume imports are now subject to a 9 percent value-added tax, there will be continued increases in the prices of these products in the market.

The price increase in legumes comes at a time when, due to rising household protein basket costs, vulnerable segments of society have increasingly turned to consuming legumes in recent years.

The relentless upward trend in food prices in Iran continues, and especially after the New Year, multiple reports of renewed price hikes for various products are released daily.

According to reports, the prices of pasta and various types of rice in the market have quadrupled over recent weeks. This comes as citizens and experts say that these price increases are not commensurate with the wage increases set for the year 1401.

According to a government decision on Sunday, April 10th, government employees’ salaries will increase by 10 percent in the year 1401. Workers’ minimum wage this year, despite a 57.4 percent increase compared to last year, has reached 4,179,750 tomans.

In response to inflation rates rising approximately 40 percent over the past year, even some members of the Iranian Parliament have warned about the continuation of this situation and called for government intervention.

Shahryar Heidari, a member of the National Security Commission of Parliament, said on Sunday: “Economic issues, price hikes, and inflation are not the fault of any country that we can blame on the West and the East every day; rather, the issue is one of incompetent, unqualified, and incapable managers.”

Officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran have consistently attributed the chaotic economic situation in Iran to American and Western sanctions in recent years.

Source: Radio Farda