Decrease in people's purchasing levels in Ramadan 1401; sellers complain about the lack of market growth
The month of Ramadan is halfway through, but contrary to long-standing tradition, the expected boom in the market this month has not materialized, and sellers are complaining about the lack of customers.
Although officials of the Ebrahim Raisi government have repeatedly promised to "control prices," the Iranian market is taking a different path, and the rapid increase in prices has caused citizens' purchases in Ramadan 1401 to show a significant decrease compared to previous years.
- Half-kilo purchases
Among the common purchases during this lunar month is the preparation of "Zulbia and Okra" sweets, which, according to the head of the Confectioners' Union, this year's sales are not significant compared to previous years.
Ali Bahremand tells ILNA News Agency that "people's purchasing volume has decreased," explaining that "instead of buying a kilo of zulbia and okra, people are satisfied with buying half a kilo."
Gholamreza Nouri Qeziljeh, the deputy head of the Special Commission for the Rebound and Prosperity of Production of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, in February 1402, assessed the "field supervision" in the "relevant agencies" as weak and pointed out that "we were unable to control the rising trend in the prices of basic goods and the rates continue to rise daily," saying: "We were unable to put the brakes on the price increases."
- Decline in purchasing power
This is while, on April 18, a member of the board of directors of the Beef Sellers' Union announced a "10 to 15 percent reduction in the purchase of veal during the month of Ramadan."
Nima Habibfar, referring to the fact that "people's budgets" have decreased and as a result, the purchase of red meat has taken on a "downward trend," stated regarding the market situation: "Supply has decreased and demand has also decreased due to rising prices and a decline in consumers' purchasing power."
In the midst of the controversial presidential election campaign in June 2011, Ebrahim Raisi made economic promises, including "changing the status quo for the benefit of the people," "inflation reaching single digits," and "prioritizing the people's table."
- Sellers' complaints
On the other hand, the head of the Haleem and Traditional Foods Union announced a "decline" in the purchase of this category of festive products during Ramadan, emphasizing that in the new year, the amount of purchases of soup and Haleem has "decreased" compared to the years before the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Hossein Mohammadi stated that "decreased purchasing power and increased prices have caused a decline in sales of soup and haleem," adding that "many trade units are complaining about the decline in sales of soup and haleem."
On the eve of Nowruz 1401 (2022) and at the end of Esfand 1400 (1421), despite the traditional Iranian market process that creates a noticeable boom in the purchase and sale of certain goods, including clothing, dried fruits, and fruits, various unions and trades related to "Nowruz sales" and "Eid shopping" in Iran reported a "noticeable decrease" in people's visits.
- Iqbal Biafol Dates
But in the meantime, the head of the National Date Association considered its consumption this month to be "the same as last year" and said: "Since the amount of exports and cold storage inventory has not changed significantly compared to last year, we can conclude that the amount of date consumption is the same as last year."
Mohsen Rashid Farrokhi noted that the "turbulence in the date market" has now subsided after more than 2 weeks of Ramadan, because "people have purchased the dates they need for the month of Ramadan during this time."
The sluggishness of the food market in Iran is occurring in a situation where in recent years, the prices of goods and food items needed by the Iranian people have increased sharply, and the measures taken by the 13th government to contain and control the prices of these items have not been fruitful so far.
Source: Voice of America
