Daily Inflation Burdens Iranian Households

Reports from media and social networks indicate a rise in the prices of goods and consumer items, as well as an increase in housing rents in Iran. In some cases, price increases are daily, and according to reports, more people are losing their ability to purchase consumer goods. In this context, 11,100 tomans was the price announced by Mahdi Youssefkhani, head of the union of poultry and fish sellers, for each kilogram of chicken in the retail market on Tuesday, August 23. Previously, on August 1, the price was 9,700 tomans per kilogram. Meanwhile, the Fars news agency reported on Sunday, August 21, that despite the Ministry of Agriculture importing several thousand tons of fresh red meat daily, the price of red meat in butcher shops has reached nearly 60,000 tomans. According to the state news agency IRNA, Hamid Varnasari, CEO of the Livestock Support Company, stated on Tuesday, August 22, that consumers can purchase each kilogram of fresh chicken for 8,100 tomans, each kilogram of mixed lamb carcass for 33,000 tomans, and frozen beef for 27,000 tomans from fruit and vegetable markets and chain stores. Earlier, the 90 Economic website reported on August 6 that in the vegetable market, beef shank was selling for 57,500 tomans and lamb meat ranged from 25,000 to 54,000 tomans. Additionally, according to the CEO of the Livestock Support Company, the price of a carton with 30 eggs is 12,500 tomans. This is while, according to the Tasnim news agency citing the Central Bank, the price of a carton of eggs in the week ending August 1 was between 13,600 tomans and 21,000 tomans. These statistics indicate that people's small tables have become smaller than before. A listener to Radio Farda says, 'By God, we are dying from inflation. We can only afford to buy a thousand-toman loaf of bread. We can't even afford cheese. Previously, we would invite guests over for a bite of bread and cheese. Now no one dares to invite guests.' Meanwhile, the Central Bank's report on prices for the week ending August 1, compared to the same week last year, indicates that dairy prices have risen by more than 18%, eggs by nearly 37%, rice by about 10%, legumes by 1.3%, fresh fruits by more than 64%, fresh vegetables by nearly 18%, red meat by 29%, chicken by more than 14%, sugar and sweets by nearly 3%, tea by more than 19%, and vegetable oil by nearly 11%. On the other hand, reports have emerged about the rising prices of medicines. For instance, Yaqoub Shiyavari, a member of the Health and Treatment Commission of the Parliament, in an interview with Mehr news agency, accused the Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Health of 'insufficient oversight' regarding the several-fold increase in drug prices. We hear a comment from a listener of Radio Farda regarding the state of medicines: 'When we went to the pharmacy to get medications for a scleroderma patient, we paid nearly 500,000 tomans.' This listener mentions his grandmother's diabetes, saying, 'My grandmother complains that insulin is unavailable, and if it is found, it is sold at several times the price.' Alongside this, the increase in housing rents has been reported as staggering in Tehran, according to Mehr news agency. Omid Ali Parsa, head of the Statistical Center of Iran, announced an average rent increase of 19% in Tehran, but field studies show a '40 to 50% increase in rents' in various areas of the Iranian capital. At the same time, the stationery market has faced a '40% price increase this year.' The home appliance market has also experienced significant price increases in recent weeks. Hassan Mansour, an economist in Britain, in an interview with Radio Farda, believes that the purchasing power of the national currency continues to decline, not due to sanctions or rising dollar prices, but due to what he calls 'irrational liquidity increases.' He adds, 'The government has turned the Central Bank into a money-producing machine, and this process is carried out through printing money without backing national production. As a result, the purchasing power of the national currency is continuously declining.' Mr. Mansour further states, 'This situation manifests as a decline in the value of the national currency against foreign currencies. The reason that the dollar occasionally jumps against the national currency is that the government artificially denies the decline in the purchasing power of the national currency. In other words, it sets an artificial price for foreign currency. Therefore, none of these reflect the actual purchasing power of the national currency against foreign currencies. Thus, by spending large amounts of foreign currency, this incorrect policy is maintained for a while. After that, pressures accumulate behind the wall, and that wall breaks.' According to this economist, those who benefit are those who have access to artificially priced currency, leading to collusion and mafia activity. Prices in Iran are rising while wages remain frozen. In this context, millions of workers earn a minimum wage of 1,115,000 tomans per month, but currently, there is no prospect for restoring their salaries or those of other wage earners. Meanwhile, according to ISNA, Jamshid Taghizadeh, CEO of the National Retirement Fund, stated on Tuesday that the purchasing power of retirees in Iran has 'decreased by more than 67%, and they do not have a good living condition.' Government economic policies have faced increasing criticism for several months. In this regard, several government representatives, economists, and even some reformist figures have called for a change in the government's economic team; a request that was met by the government with a change in the head of the Central Bank. Nevertheless, according to Tasnim, Mohammad Ali Pourmokhtar, a member of parliament from Kaboodar Ahang, stated on Tuesday that given the current conditions, reforming the economic team and changing government economic policies is 'necessary and unavoidable.' He warned, 'If no changes in approaches and policies are observed, the parliament will seek to impeach the economic ministers and is determined to do so.' Previously, protests against rising prices and other economic issues have been held in several cities in Iran in recent months.