Food inflation in Iran rose 128 percent year on year during Tir, the Iranian calendar month running from June 21 to July 20, according to the Statistical Centre of Iran. Eight of the country’s 10 main food groups recorded inflation above 100 percent.
The price surge is forcing households in Tehran and elsewhere to reduce what they buy, abandon previously common staples and count every rial. The pressure comes as Iran faces a naval blockade, two successive wars and a collapse in the value of its national currency.
At a glance:
- Oils and fats recorded 261.5 percent point-to-point inflation.
- Dairy products, including milk and cheese, rose 147.1 percent.
- Red and white meat and related products rose 145.2 percent.
- Bread and cereals recorded 116.7 percent inflation.
Households are buying less
On Fadaeiyan-e Islam Street in southern Tehran, a woman in her 50s said the prices of all goods had doubled and that inflation was almost wiping out her family’s dining table. Sheila, a mother of three nearing retirement from the Ministry of Education, said her salary no longer covered the food she used to buy for the month.
Maryam, a 34-year-old architect, said she and her husband both work for large private companies but can no longer live as they did. She said they now count every rial while shopping for fruit and vegetables, describing their family as among “the wealthy poor” after previously being considered high-income.
Staples and household choices under pressure
The Statistical Centre’s figures show the steepest increase in oils and fats, reaching 261.5 percent. Dairy products followed at 147.1 percent, while red and white meat and their derivatives reached 145.2 percent. Bread and cereals, a primary source of food for poorer households, recorded 116.7 percent inflation.
Maziar, a 45-year-old private-sector employee, said his household had stopped buying red meat, desirable Iranian rice and high-quality oils. He said he spends his salary quickly on necessities because he fears prices will rise again the next day.
Shops feel the currency shock
In northern Tehran’s Tajrish Square, grocery owner Mahmoud said wholesale prices were changing daily. Customers who once bought without checking the cost now often ask about prices or seek to purchase goods on credit.
Mahmoud said he could not confidently sell on credit because he did not know the next day’s prices. He described trading conditions as worse than during the Iran-Iraq War, when he said markets still maintained a minimum level of daily purchasing activity.
War pressure, but not an economic collapse
The source describes millions of Iranians struggling with livelihood and survival, while saying the economy remains far from collapse after five months of war with the United States and Israel. Iran’s domestic economy is relatively diversified for a major oil exporter, after decades of efforts by authorities to build self-sufficiency under Western economic embargoes.
The inflation data nevertheless show that price pressure has spread across most commodities. Tehran’s poverty line has risen to 900 million rials, described in the source as a little more than $654, raising concern among households that previously considered themselves financially secure.
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