After Eliminating Red and White Meat, It’s Now Eggs and Yogurt’s Turn

Iran’s labor minister spoke of making people’s tables “more colorful” and Ibrahim Raisi talked about controlling inflation. But reality tells a different story about crippling inflation. A simple omelet with a bowl of yogurt is considered “luxury food” for a significant portion of society.

Less than a month has passed since statements by Iran’s labor minister under Ibrahim Raisi’s government. He claimed to be aware of workers’ and retirees’ income levels and promised to control inflation so people’s tables would become “more colorful.”

According to Iran’s Labor News Agency “ILNA,” inflation rates hit record highs in Shahrivar. Food prices are said to have experienced unprecedented increases.

Ibrahim Raisi, head of the thirteenth government, has spoken about controlling inflation and claimed that inflation is a “red line” for his government and is at the top of his priorities.

Rather than presenting a specific solution to control inflation, Raisi warned government officials to avoid making decisions that would lead to inflation increases. He promised that in drafting the 1401 fiscal year budget, he would cut expenses. But the problem is that the increase in food and housing prices has reached such a level that workers and retirees cannot meet their basic and vital needs.

Eliminating Lamb Meat

According to Mansour Pourian, head of the livestock supply council of the Islamic Republic, part of society has refrained from consuming lamb due to economic problems.

In an interview with “ILNA,” he addressed the problems of nomads and livestock herders and reminded that due to rising meat prices, “livestock from three production seasons—winter 1399 and spring and summer of this year—has remained in the hands of herders.”

Pourian admitted: “People, due to the special economic conditions they face, have unfortunately almost completely eliminated lamb consumption from their diet.”

This official believes that now that part of society cannot afford to buy lamb, herders should export their meat to relieve them of their problems!

Now It’s Eggs’ Turn

“ILNA,” citing workers and retirees, reported: “We no longer have the ability to buy milk, yogurt, and eggs!”

The same news agency, regarding inflation data for Shahrivar of the current year, stated: “All factors have hit record highs!” According to statistics presented in this report, point inflation rate in Shahrivar of the current year has reached about 48 percent.

In other words, according to official statistics of the Islamic Republic, Iranians’ purchasing power has declined by approximately 50 percent in just one year. The “ILNA” news agency continued: “The rising prices of dairy products and eggs are deeply concerning; groups that have long been forced to eliminate red meat and chicken from their tables now face another heavy burden; the forced elimination of eggs from tables, due to astronomical price increases. Field observations show that each egg in the market has reached around two thousand tomans!”

Dairy product prices have also experienced unprecedented increases. Each liter of milk has reached over 12,000 tomans and each kilogram of yogurt has reached around 15,000 tomans.

Rice at 50,000 tomans per kilogram had been eliminated from many people’s tables long ago. The “ILNA” reporter called eating a simple omelet with a bowl of yogurt “luxury food” and said the price of this simple food without tomato “costs at least 30,000 tomans!”

A municipal worker from Marivan told this news agency about rising prices that his family not only hasn’t eaten red meat for months but also “doesn’t always buy yogurt and milk … At one time, tomato omelet or potato omelet was food we ate several times a week; now eggs have become so expensive that sometimes we just eat fried or boiled potatoes and skip the eggs altogether.”

Source: DW