Social Media Reactions to Iran’s Agriculture Minister’s Comments on Meat Price Increases
Iran’s Agriculture Minister’s response regarding chicken and meat price increases on an Islamic Republic television program sparked controversy and generated numerous reactions from social media users.
Mahmoud Hejazi, Iran’s Agriculture Minister, on Saturday, January 28, stated on a television program that when asked about the reason for chicken and meat price increases in Iran, “Under these circumstances, we should first thank God that (meat and chicken) exist.”
The Islamic Republic’s Agriculture Minister further stated that we must accept that we are managing the country under difficult conditions.
One social media user, in response to Hejazi’s comments and criticizing his tone, said: “The minister means you should thank God that you can see meat and chicken from behind the shop window… perhaps later even that won’t exist.”
وزيركشاورزى در واكنش به گرانى مرغ و گوشت: خدارا شكر كنيد هست!
فك كنم منظورش اينه كه خداروشكر كنيد كه از پشت ويترين مرغ و گوشت ميبينيد و شكلشو يادتون نميره.ممكنه بعدا همينم نباشه!
لبخندت شرم آوره آقاى وزير pic.twitter.com/5A5BcgsC2S
— يوژوآل (@usuallam) January 27, 2019
Another user wrote that “Thank God we’re still breathing,” and another user reacted to the Agriculture Minister’s comments in this way:
هم اکنون وزیر #کشاورزی در پاسخ به سوال مجری #نگاه_یک راجع به افزایش قیمت برخی ارزاق عمومی مثل گوشت
“مردم باید خدا را شکر کنند که هست”
پ.ن: ایهالناس شکرگزار باشید که #هست .ولو اینکه فقط برای بهضیها هست و برای شما نیست.
— OstadKaveh (@OstadKaveh) January 26, 2019
Another Twitter user also shared a photo of a municipal worker warming himself next to a fried chicken machine, sarcastically writing: “Expressing gratitude for the existence of chicken warmers in the country.”
در حال شکرگذاری بخاطر وجود گرمابخش مرغها در کشور #وزیر_کشاورزی pic.twitter.com/pfpm4n59Jg
— دارک گرِی (@MrDarkGray) January 27, 2019
Another user also tweeted:
چرا مرغ و گوشت گرون شده آقاي وزيركشاورزي:#خدارو_شكر_كه_هست
دزدي و فساد:#خدارو_شكر_كه_هست
گروني و بدبختي: #خدارو_شكر_كه_هست
مديران بي مسووليت و ناكارآمد: #خدارو_شكر_كه_هست— آقاي لوكا توني (@Loukatonii) January 27, 2019
Inflation Reaches the Meat Market
Public dissatisfaction with commodity prices, particularly the several-fold increase in essential items such as chicken and meat, comes at a time when, according to the Iran Statistics Center, the point-to-point inflation rate in December (comparing prices of goods and services to the same month last year) was close to 40 percent.
Additionally, the “meat” category experienced the highest price increase in December compared to the previous month, with lamb meat in December of this year reaching approximately 70,000 tomans per kilogram, representing a 70 percent increase compared to the same month last year.
Officials Disagree Over the Cause of Meat Price Increases
Previously, some Islamic Republic officials cited the increase in meat smuggling as one of the reasons for price increases, a claim that was denied by law enforcement but, at the same time, Iran’s judiciary demanded strict legal action against it.
Sadegh Larijani, Head of Iran’s Judiciary, on Monday, January 29, referring to meat smuggling and other items, stated that prosecutors throughout the country should deal “most severely” with the smuggling of essential goods and such speculation, and not allow some to engage in profiteering during this difficult period.
Although Larijani did not explicitly mention “execution,” according to judicial laws in the Islamic Republic, the most severe legal punishment is considered to be “execution.”
Some time ago, with the escalation of economic crises in Iran and rising currency and dollar rates in the market, the judiciary issued execution sentences for those accused of economic crimes that, according to them, had caused “disruption to the economic system.”
Economic disorder in Iran, which has increased in recent months, especially after American sanctions, has been followed by public protests and various sectors including workers, teachers, and cultural retirees. Protests that have been accompanied by security confrontations and arrests of protesters by the Islamic Republic government.
Source: Voice of America
