Reports indicate that Iran’s imports of essential goods have decreased by an average of 50% in the past eight months. Red meat production has also decreased by 30% in November compared to the previous year, a trend that analysts believe signals a major crisis in food supply and a shortage of food items in the market.
According to a report by the Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), based on customs statistics, the imports of dry tea, rice, raw sugar, poultry, and wheat have decreased by 57.69%, 53.89%, 51.98%, 48.11%, and 46.20%, respectively, in terms of value in the eight-month period of this year compared to the same period last year.
In another report, the Statistical Center announced on December 16 that the performance of the country’s official slaughterhouses in November 2023, compared to the same month in 2022, indicated a 30% decrease in the amount of red meat supply in the official slaughterhouses of the country.
The same center stated in another report that the supply of poultry in the country’s official slaughterhouses in November 2023 had decreased by about 6% compared to the previous month.
The downward trend in the import of essential goods occurs while in May 2023, Kaveh Zargaran, the head of the Iranian Grains Association, declared the reserve status of some essential goods as critical and warned of possible shortages in 2023.
Analysts believe that with the significant reduction in the import of essential goods in the coming months, the market will undergo price and inventory fluctuations. It is predicted that the initial impact of this reduction will be an increase in prices, followed by shortages and rationing in the market.
One of the main reasons for the significant decrease in imports is the lack of necessary foreign currency for essential goods, as well as raw materials and essential items, which has caused complaints and concerns among importers and producers.
In this regard on October 16, Jabraeil Baradari, the head of the Agricultural Jihad Organization of Tehran Province, attributed one of the current problems in poultry production to the excessive delay in the clearance of soybean-carrying ships at the country’s ports, which he also linked to the issue of foreign currency allocation.
The status of supply and storage of essential goods in the country and the over 50% inflation rate of food items have raised alarm bells for the officials of the Iranian regime and the regime’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
The regime’s Khabar Online website has stated that in simpler terms, the Supreme Leader is asking Ebrahim Raisi what has happened on the ground, meaning what has actually happened apart from the reports.
Government officials have claimed over the past two years, with the announcement of statistics that many experts consider to be “statistical manipulation,” that the country’s conditions are favorable and improving. However, many reports published by the media and social networks present a different picture of the societal situation and livelihood challenges.
