Rising inflation in Iran on the eve of Nowruz; Journalist: "There is a risk of food shortages and high prices"

On the eve of Nowruz, the surge in food prices in Iran has increased concerns. According to economic activists, Iran's livestock and poultry feed reserves are only "for a month," and the Ukraine crisis will cause more problems for Iran.

The Statistical Center of Iran announced in its food price report for Bahman 1400 that the prices of walnuts, pistachios, and almonds have increased by "17 to 40 percent."

This is despite the fact that the consumption of nuts and dried fruits increases every year during this season due to the approaching celebrations of Chaharshanbeh Suri and Nowruz.

According to Eqtas Online on Tuesday, March 1, according to information from the Statistical Center of Iran on "Average changes in the prices of selected food items for different food groups in urban areas," the prices of various food items have become even more expensive.

According to this report, first-class Iranian rice with 18.2 percent, mutton with 5.3 percent, butter with 1.7 percent, and potatoes with 26.1 percent had the highest price increase compared to the previous month.

The price of potatoes has increased 2.5 times in the past year, and the price of Iranian rice has increased by 95.3%.

According to reports, the Rural Cooperative Organization purchased “fruits for Eid at 20 to 30 percent above market prices.” The head of the National Inspection Organization says, “The negligence and inattention in this matter is obvious and clear.”

ISNA also reported on Tuesday, March 1, that the Rural Cooperative Organization, while it "could have bought oranges for less than 10,000 tomans and apples for about 12,000 tomans," bought oranges for "13,900 tomans" and apples for "about 14,000 tomans."

Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei called the matter "considerable," and Zabihollah Khodayian, head of the National Inspection Organization, called it "negligence and negligence" and said that determining whether it was "intentional or collusion" requires "further judicial investigation."

Maryam Shokrani, an economic journalist in Iran, expressed concern in a tweet by announcing an "alarm of food shortages and high prices," and quoted the Iranian Livestock and Poultry Input Importers Union as saying: "There is only one month's worth of livestock and poultry feed in Iran, and the war with Russia has caused all orders from merchants to be suspended."

According to the website of the Iranian Livestock and Poultry Input Importers Union, Mohammad Mehdi Nahavandi, a member of the union's board of directors, said that "the Ukrainian crisis will cause us to face problems in supplying corn and soybeans" and "officials must provide import permits from other sources of supply, including Argentina, Canada, and North America."

This is while livelihood protests continue in Iran.

A protesting livestock farmer during the Yazd livestock farmers' strike in February told the people, "We livestock farmers are suffocating the producers in the womb," and "We ourselves have come as a spontaneous movement to say that they have endangered the food security of our country. We ourselves have gone on strike to say that in the coming years, don't go and buy meat for 700,000 tomans per kilo."

Source: Voice of America