Long lines at bakeries and bread rationing in Sanandaj; flour shortage closes bakeries

According to reports, following the flour shortage crisis in Sanandaj, some bakeries in the city have been forced to temporarily close in recent days.

In a photo report published on Wednesday, January 10, the IRNA news agency stated that the reason for the flour shortage in the city in recent days was "heavy snowfall and frost."

In this report, a citizen from Sanandaj said that he had stood in line for five hours to buy 10 loaves of bread.

A baker also cited distribution problems as the reason for the flour shortage, saying that previously, flour would reach bakers in this city one day after monthly registration on the site, but after changing the distribution company, which he named "Persian Gulf," flour distribution takes up to a week after registration, and the problem of flour shortages recurs in this city in the last week of every month.

According to this baker, in order to make bread available to everyone, Sanandaj bakers are forced to ration its sales, and sometimes some citizens do not receive bread after standing in line for several hours.

Meanwhile, in a report published on Thursday, January 20, Tasnim News Agency described the closure of bakeries in Sanandaj as an “arbitrary” action by bakers “in the shadow of a lack of supervision by the responsible authorities.” The bakery owners deny this accusation.

The problems of bread shortages and lack of it in various cities in Iran make news from time to time. This is despite the fact that, given the economic problems and the inability of many families to procure other food sources such as rice and meat, bread has now become the dominant food for most Iranians.

Meanwhile, the head of the Iranian Food Industries Association had previously announced in mid-November that this year, the high cost of inputs and drought have challenged wheat production.

In this regard, ILNA News Agency had previously reported a 30 percent drop in wheat production in the country compared to the previous year, according to statistics provided by private sector activists.

In recent years, officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran have repeatedly announced Iran's self-sufficiency in wheat production, and even during the reign of Mohammad Khatami, a wheat self-sufficiency celebration was held.

Source: Radio Farda