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Inflation in Iran reaches highest level since World War II
Annual inflation in Iran rose to 77.2 percent. While basic foodstuffs are rapidly becoming more expensive in Tehran's markets, retired and fixed-income families are struggling to make ends meet.
Inflation in Iran rose to a level not seen in years. Shoppers at markets in the capital Tehran are turning over products on shelves one by one to check prices; but for many families, shopping is no longer a daily necessity, it has turned into a calculation that is redone every week.
Those browsing stalls at Bastan Market in the city’s west directly feel the rise in basic foods. Retired Mashhadi Firouz says that in one year, the price of a kilogram of rice rose from about 1.8 million rials to over 5 million rials, and cooking oil from 700,000 rials to over 3 million rials. Firouz states that his salary doesn't even cover a third of his household expenses.
Firouz says that for the first time in many years, those living on fixed incomes have fallen below the poverty line, and it is not just the high price increases but their speed that leaves people helpless. In his view, daily shopping has turned into a discovery tour to learn the new prices.
46-year-old housewife Fatima explains that she has increased her weekly market trips from one to three. The reason is not greater need; it is an effort to find lower-priced products. Fatima says red meat has become inaccessible, chicken is rarely seen on the table, and she even counts eggs one by one when buying them.
According to Fatima, inflation is not a crisis that hits everyone equally; it is a selective pressure that affects low-income groups much more severely. As food prices rise, a large portion of a poor family's income goes to essential spending.
71-year-old grocer Mehran, who sells wholesale in the Narenj area south of Tehran, says the crisis has struck not only buyers but also sellers. Mehran states that people now only buy essentials, prices have doubled in less than four months, and as a result, he has started stocking fewer products in his shop.
Mehran says he has never seen such a severe stagnation in his 40-year working life, and that it surpasses even the toughest periods of sanctions. He says he is not trying to make a profit; his sole aim is to keep the shop he inherited from his father afloat without closing it.
According to the new report of the Central Bank of Iran, annual inflation rose to 77.2 percent in the April 21-May 20 period. The monthly increase was recorded as 8.5 percent, while point-to-point inflation on goods reached 113 percent.
This rate stands out as the highest level for Iran since 1942, that is, since World War II. In those years, the war shook food supply chains and caused prices to rise sharply.
Arman Khaleghi, head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines, says the economy is under multiple pressures at the same time. According to Khaleghi, the removal of preferential exchange rates drove up prices of basic products; protests early in the year disrupted market order; and the subsequent war added to economic pressure.
Khaleghi also states that annual wage and energy hikes came into effect at the start of the new Persian year, while the naval blockade has strained import and export chains. He says the impact of the war is not limited to the military shock; as people turned to stockpiling basic products, demand surged rapidly, driving prices even higher.
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