Rising Prices and Shortages of Essential Goods; Criticisms of Raisi Government’s Economic Program Increase

Following repeated increases in the prices of essential items in Iran during the current year, particularly the surge in prices of food commodities such as rice and potatoes, criticisms of Ibrahim Raisi’s government have intensified.

The newspaper “Ettela’at,” published in Tehran and among conservative media outlets of the Islamic Republic, on Wednesday, February 10 (in the Persian calendar), criticized macroeconomic policies in an editorial and addressed executive officials, writing “Make government food price-setting transparent.”

The publication wrote: “The remarks of Alireza Abbasi, representative from Karaj and vice-chair of the Agricultural Commission of the parliament, have again raised previous ambiguities about how the prices of imported essential goods are determined, the amount of profit the government makes from these goods, and ultimately the government’s role in food inflation.”

The second vice-chair of the Agricultural Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly had told ISNA news agency the previous day that foreign rice is purchased at half a dollar per kilogram and offered to the market, yet in the market, foreign rice cannot even be found for 30,000 tomans per kilogram.

Alireza Abbasi had also said: “The main culprit for irrational rice price increases is the Ministry of Jihad for Agriculture. The Ministry of Jihad for Agriculture lacks the capacity to manage the market and has failed in monitoring prices.”

The Ettela’at newspaper continued: “For years, media outlets have called for transparency in price equations, intermediaries in purchasing essential goods, their identity, type of selection, and purchasing methods, and they believe that many factors driving up prices of essential goods in the market stem from the government itself and this opaque purchasing and pricing method.”

This media outlet, which is funded by the public budget, emphasized in conclusion: “The big question is whether the government, as a major merchant, is responsible for a large portion of food inflation? It is hoped that the Ministry of Jihad for Agriculture and the government trading company will answer this question transparently.”

Meanwhile, media outlets supporting Ibrahim Raisi’s government, the head of the thirteenth administration of the Islamic Republic, view these price increases as normal and do not consider them an extraordinary matter or astronomical price hikes beyond recent trends.

The Kayhan newspaper, published in Tehran on February 5 (Persian calendar), in a report titled “Price Increases Inherited from the Past and the Thirteenth Government’s Programs” had written: “Recently, the price of potatoes has increased to more than 15,000 tomans per kilogram. Although this price is not high compared to some food items, given that it comprises a large share of household expenses, especially for low-income segments of society, it has a greater impact.”

This publication, which is run by the representative of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, stated in another section of its report: “Consecutive price increases are not limited to essential consumables and basic goods but affect most commodities available in the market. On the other hand, it is not confined to these past few months but is an issue that began years ago and has accelerated in the past one or two years.”

Source: Voice of America