20% Increase in Fruit Prices This Summer, Pistachio Exports Face Challenges

The monthly inflation of food items in Khordad 1403 shows that the average price of food items has increased by about 4.3% compared to Ordibehesht, with citrus fruits experiencing a price increase of over 20% compared to Ordibehesht. Meanwhile, according to the website 'Fardaye Kerman', Majid Hojjat, head of the Rafsanjan Chamber of Commerce, warned that 'we will lose the pistachio market' and announced that the problems with pistachio exports have not yet been resolved, with '60% of farmers' pistachios unsold and stored in warehouses.' In a report on the rising prices of fruits, ILNA news agency wrote that some food items have experienced monthly inflation of over 30%. The monthly inflation for 'oranges' in Khordad this year was 32.5%, and the monthly inflation for 'lemons' was 21.3%. According to this report, workers are the most affected by the rising prices of food items and cannot afford fresh fruit. The daily wage of a minimum wage worker this year is 238,000 tomans, while the price of four kilograms of seasonal fruit is equivalent to 662,000 tomans, or 2.6 times the daily wage of a worker. Hassan Izati, head of the Construction Workers Union in Baneh, Kurdistan province, stated that due to a severe decline in construction, border closures in Baneh, and daily inflation, we are witnessing a decrease in the purchasing power of seasonal workers; a construction worker's family can barely buy fruit twice a week, and even then, it is not first-grade fruit but of lower quality. Furthermore, Faramarz Tofighi, a labor activist, mentioned that these items [fresh fruits and vegetables] have been removed from the workers' food basket. He pointed out the costs of housing and the rising prices of simple food items, stating that 'working families have turned to buying cheaper products' and added, 'in recent years, the physical and mental capabilities of the working class have declined.' This labor activist expressed concern over this 'critical situation' regarding its 'painful consequences,' stating that 'a decrease in birth rates, lower productivity, and an increase in fatal occupational accidents are some of the bitter results of these conditions.' Reports about the growing severe livelihood problems of workers and wage earners come at a time when Solat Mortazavi, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, stated on the eighth of Khordad regarding the minimum wage of workers, 'what is in the interest of the country, workers, and employers has been increased.' The low level of wages, along with the delayed payments in various regions of Iran, has led to an increase in strikes and protests by workers in recent years. A member of the wage committee stated that the government is trying to remove some items from the workers' livelihood basket. The inflation rate of 38% for food items is higher than the annual inflation rate. The burden of inflation on rural households in Ordibehesht; point inflation reached 60% and food inflation 77%. The Statistical Center of Iran reported that the point inflation rate has increased to over 48%.