Prices of Various Bread Types Increase in Iran

The Union of Traditional Bakers of Tehran raised the approved price for “various types of bread made with subsidized wheat, types one and two” on Sunday, July 27.

Mehr News Agency initially reported, citing “an informed source in the Tehran Governor’s Office,” that the prices announced by the Union of Traditional Bakers at this office “have not been discussed.”

Hours later, the agency reported, quoting Hashmatolah Asgari, Deputy Governor of Tehran: “The increase in bread prices in Tehran Province is based on the decisions of the Wheat, Flour and Bread Management Task Force of Tehran Province.”

According to the new decision, each barbari bread is priced between 1,800 to 2,500 tomans, sangak at 3,000 tomans, and lavash at 500 tomans.

Increases in bread prices have also been reported in other provinces and regions of Iran, including Mazandaran, Mashhad, and Karaj.

Last week, Bijan Nouroz Moghadam Abkenaar, head of the Union of Traditional Bakers, announced this union’s request for a 100 percent increase in bread prices this year.

He cited the reason for this request as an increase in “production costs and inflation, particularly over the past two years,” and warned that if bread prices are not “adjusted,” we should “expect more bakery units to close.”

Bread is part of the food basket for many Iranians, and an increase in its price can further burden many families. Bread is among the products for which the Iranian government sets an “approved price.” However, various reports show that most bakeries charge their customers prices higher than what the government has approved.

Source: Voice of America