Withdrawal of the first month's subsistence allowance and announcement of new prices
The Market Regulation Headquarters announced the gradual implementation of new prices for oil, chicken, eggs, and dairy products, and the final prices of various dairy products have been announced. The first month's subsistence allowance for 23 million Iranian households became available for withdrawal last night.
The Market Regulation Headquarters announced in a statement that the amount of “subsistence aid” deposited for the first month can be withdrawn from Wednesday evening (May 11). Two days before the announcement, it was stated that the “subsistence subsidy” had been deposited into citizens’ accounts in packages of 400,000 and 300,000 Tomans.
According to domestic media reports, government aid covers 23 million households, equivalent to 72 million people out of Iran's population of 85 million.
The government of Ebrahim Raisi has called this measure the "Popularization and Fair Distribution of Subsidies" plan, and is trying to overcome economic bottlenecks and pricing chaos in the market through this.
The announcement by the “Market Regulation Headquarters” mentions “measures taken,” but the government has not announced the details of these measures. In addition, it has been emphasized that there is no problem in providing basic goods needed by the people and that the prices of bread, fuel, and medicine will not change.
What is set to change under the government's new plan are the prices of oil, chicken, eggs, and dairy products, which will be implemented "gradually" starting today (May 12).
In this regard, no specific plan has been presented. The aforementioned announcement only emphasizes that “the adjustment of prices of goods in each province and monitoring compliance with prices” is the responsibility of the governors.
On May 12, Tasnim News Agency quoted Reza Bakeri, secretary of the Dairy Industries Association, as announcing the prices of several types of dairy products: 900g nylon milk with 1.5% fat for 15,000 tomans, 1-liter bottled milk with 1.5% fat for 18,000 tomans, 2.5kg yogurt with 1.5% fat for 49,500 tomans, and 400g UAF cheese for 37,500 tomans.
Tangible reality
While government officials continue to emphasize the improvement of the situation and make promises to the public, especially regarding preventing the increase in the prices of basic and everyday goods, society is struggling with increasing prices, and experts warn of class divisions and the risk of social explosion.
Domestic media outlets are increasingly reporting on people’s dissatisfaction. Last week, as the government reiterated its emphasis on preventing food price increases and protecting consumers, the Iranian Broadcasting Agency quoted a citizen as saying: “Until last week, we used to buy bread for 600 tomans, but now the same bread has become 3000 tomans, a five-fold increase in price. Pasta used to be 8000 tomans, but now it is 28,000 tomans. We used to buy sandwich bread for 1200 tomans, but now it is 3000 tomans. What should I do with this financial situation? Should bread that costs 600 tomans become 3000 tomans in one day? When the foundation of my life is bread, can I live with its price increasing fivefold? I implore you to make our voices heard by the authorities.”
The current chaotic situation is most affecting workers, who, according to local media, have not even been able to buy meat for a long time. ILNA news agency wrote on May 4: “May has not yet ended, and these price increases have severely emptied the shopping baskets of working-class households. This year, wages have increased by 57 percent, but in the past two months, the average increase in food prices alone has been more than 200 percent, which means a decrease of about 150 percent in workers’ real wages.”
The Eqtas Online website also wrote in its editorial on May 12: "Economic policymakers have led Iranian households to the slaughterhouse of inflation, high prices, and shortages."
This economic website, while emphasizing that the government has, through its own intervention, transformed prices into an artificial set of meaningless numbers, writes: "The constant denial of officials and blaming previous governments is nothing new. While all governments have been the same in their understanding of the economy and the basis of their economic policymaking. The change in the country's macro conditions and the people's increasing vulnerability have been and are the result of the denial of economic realities and the constant depreciation of resources in an artificial pricing system."
Source: DW
