Online Sale of Subsidized Meat in Iran Launched

Following various reports about the formation of long queues for purchasing subsidized meat in Iran, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture announced the launch of online sales for this meat. Reza Salemi, the director general of the Livestock Support Company in Tehran, announced on Tuesday, February 5, that under this plan, each family will be sold two to three kilograms of red meat per month at government prices. In an interview with the Tasnim news agency, he stated that the sale of 'market-regulated' meats will begin on Thursday through two online stores. According to Mr. Salemi, these two online stores will sell subsidized red meat to each family based on their postal code. The official also announced that imported meats will also be sold in these two online stores. He mentioned that an online store named 'Behroozar' has been launched, and another store named 'Yakhchal' will be launched on Wednesday. Recently, reports have emerged about the formation of long queues for purchasing government meat and even confrontations in some of these queues. However, Mr. Salemi stated, 'Many people do not need this meat and only purchase it due to the significant price difference with the market, selling it in the free market, which has led to speculation.' In recent months, the price of meat has increased significantly. According to Omid Ali Parsa, the head of Iran's Statistics Center, the price of red meat has increased by 70% since the beginning of this year. Currently, the price of each kilogram of meat has reached 110,000 tomans. However, Mahmoud Hojjati, the Minister of Agriculture, stated on January 27 in a television program regarding the high prices of chicken and meat: 'Given the conditions we have, we should first thank God that (chicken and meat) are available. We must accept that we are managing the country under difficult conditions.' These remarks sparked widespread reactions on social media. In another interview, Mr. Hojjati cited the increase in currency prices as the reason for the rise in meat prices. On Tuesday, Morteza Rezaei, the Deputy Minister of Livestock Affairs, also stated that meat imports are planned to control market prices during the Nowruz holidays. The U.S. exit from the JCPOA and the return of sanctions against Tehran have led to the devaluation of the national currency and the bankruptcy of many Iranian industries in recent months, with people even facing shortages of baby diapers for a period. Over the past year, numerous protests have occurred across Iran in response to the rising prices of essential goods, which have been met with police crackdowns.