Rising Food Prices; Iranian Purchasing Power Has Decreased by 50%

The head of the Supermarket and Protein Products Union reported disruptions in the market due to the "critical livelihood conditions of a significant portion of the population" and stated that this year, people's purchasing power has decreased by more than 50% compared to the same time last year. Davood Fakouri said on Thursday, September 30, to the "Tejarat News" website that the decline in people's purchasing power, along with tax issues, has also challenged businesses. Tejarat News reported that since the beginning of this year, with rising food prices and inflation in essential goods, people have been forced to reduce their consumption or even eliminate some items from their tables. Alongside the decrease in purchasing power, there has also been a problem in supplying certain food items and the resulting inflation. The vice president of the Iranian Canning Industries Syndicate stated that due to the lack of domestic fishing and import issues, the supply and demand system for tuna fish has been affected. Masoud Bakhtiari emphasized that the extraordinary decrease in the supply of non-frozen fish in factories near southern Iranian ports has caused tuna prices to rise abnormally. He added that currently, only a few factories are operating because fish is unavailable, and most factories are either completely shut down or operating at low capacity. In this context, the decline in people's purchasing power has led to a replacement of low-quality food items with essential goods. Earlier, an inspector from the Union of Animal Feed Importers stated that employees with a salary of 8 million tomans cannot afford meat priced at 350,000 tomans per kilogram and chicken at 60,000 tomans (prices from that period). Kasra Lashgari emphasized that in this situation, people are lowering the quality of their food, and if they previously consumed more protein, they are now reducing it and replacing it with other products such as carbohydrates, potatoes, and pasta. The livelihood situation in Iran has prompted criticism from the head of the Expediency Discernment Council of the Islamic Republic. Sadegh Amoli Larijani, on June 4, reacted to the decline in people's purchasing power by stating that "the government, parliament, and other responsible institutions... must urgently think about the current livelihood problems of the people." High inflation above 40% in recent years has led to a sharp increase in prices, and while inflation in the year 1401 was over 46%, the minimum monthly wage for workers subject to labor law has increased by 27% for the current year. Some experts believe that the stagnant growth of the Iranian economy over the past decade and high inflation has created a situation where real income has lagged behind price increases, manifesting as a decrease in purchasing power and a decline in welfare. This situation has led to street protests by workers, retirees, and other wage earners in Iran. The slogan "Inflation, price hikes, a disaster for the people" was chanted at retirees' gatherings in Sanandaj and Zanjan. In Tehran, bread prices increased; the Minister of Economy stated that there is "special" oversight on bread prices. The price of stationery has risen by 50%; the school year begins with inflation for students. No one is willing to accept the government-imposed rent ceiling; there is rampant inflation in the housing rental market.