Malnutrition Prevalent Among Low-Income Populations; Price of Six Dairy Products Increased by Up to 107 Percent

Reports published in Iranian media indicate an 8 percent increase in residential rental prices in urban areas, a rise in the prevalence of malnutrition among low-income groups, and a widening gap between workers’ wages and living costs in Iran.

• Increase in Residential Rental Prices in Urban Areas

The Statistical Center of Iran announced an increase in the rental price index of residential units in urban areas during the summer of 1400 (2021).

The Statistical Center of Iran on Saturday, October 8, 1400 (2021) announced that the rental price index in summer reached 244.1, representing an 8 percent increase compared to the previous season.

The report adds that in the summer season, Lorestan Province had the highest seasonal inflation rate at 27.5 percent, and Sistan and Baluchestan Province had the lowest rate at 2.5 percent among Iran’s provinces.

• Increase in Malnutrition Prevalence Among Low-Income Groups

The Secretary General of the Nutrition Improvement Office at the Ministry of Health reported an increase in malnutrition prevalence among children under five years old, pregnant mothers, and adolescents in low-income deciles, particularly in deprived areas of the country.

According to the ILNA news agency, Zahra Abdollahi, announcing this news and referring to an increase in “food insecurity,” said that due to rising food prices and inflation, the risk of food insecurity in the country has increased. She added that the conditions in some deprived areas of Iran, including Sistan and Baluchestan, Hormozgan, Kerman, South Khorasan, and Khuzestan, are less favorable in terms of food security compared to other regions of Iran.

Mrs. Abdollahi said that urgent measures must be taken to control inflation and rising food prices, particularly animal protein sources such as meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and dairy products, which have become very difficult to access and whose consumption has decreased or been eliminated.

This comes as ISNA news agency reported a 61 to 107 percent price increase for six dairy products in the past month, stating that in Shahrivar (September) of the current year, each kilogram of yogurt increased by 75.7 percent, each one-liter bottle of milk by 69.2 percent, each half-kilogram of cheese by 68.4 percent, each 100-gram package of butter by 107.5 percent, each 200-gram package of cream by 69.7 percent, and each 1.5-liter bottle of doogh by 61.4 percent compared to Shahrivar of last year.

• Widening Gap Between Workers’ Wages and Living Costs

The head of the Union of Contract and Temporary Workers says that the wages and salaries of Iranian workers and retirees are among the lowest levels in wage and salary tables compared to other countries.

Fatholah Bayat, referring to the lack of balance between wages and expenses, said we are still facing “wage lag.”

The head of the Union of Contract and Temporary Workers, emphasizing the necessity of making workers’ wages realistic, told the ISNA news agency that currently the monthly cost of the basic living basket exceeds 10 million tomans while a worker receives four million tomans in wages.

He continued, noting that workers’ living basket expenses include costs such as food, medical care, rent, and transportation, adding that even if inflation is controlled, there is still a need to move toward reducing the gap between the minimum wage and living costs.

Source: Voice of America