The Iranian regime’s Majlis’ (Parliament) Research Center has reported a worsening crisis in effective demand within the economy. The center’s report indicates that the food and beverage industry’s sales index show a 7.3% decrease in June compared to the same month last year, and a 7.6% decrease compared to the previous month. This reflects the significant impact of rising prices on people’s livelihoods, leading to a lighter and more restricted food basket.
According to the center’s report, which was published by the state-run newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad under the title “Industry in Red Status,” the production index of all sub-sectors, except the oil industry, has decreased. Furthermore, compared to the same month last year, the production and sales indices of all food and beverage industry sub-sectors have also declined.
Donya-e-Eqtesad, relying on this report, described the state of the country’s industries by stating, “The continuation of the current situation will cause more firms to operate at half their production capacity, and this capacity will gradually decrease, eventually leading them to the risk of closure.”
From analysts’ perspectives, the decline in production and sales indices across all industries indicates a very critical situation in the productive sector of the economy, pushing the economy to the brink of collapse.
A more important aspect of this report, however, is the demand crisis in the food and beverage industries. The 7% decrease in this sector indicates that people’s food baskets are becoming lighter and more limited.
These statistics become more significant when considering last week’s statements by Mohammad Esmail Motlagh, the regime’s head of the Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Health and Food Security, who announced that eight provinces in the country require more attention regarding nutrition. At that time, critics interpreted the phrase “need more attention in eight provinces” as an unofficial acknowledgment of malnutrition in these provinces.
In fact, the head of the Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Health and Food Security has issued a warning about provinces that are considered economically disadvantaged.
Now, with the decrease in demand for food, it seems that the livelihood crisis has expanded further, and the population affected by malnutrition is increasing.
The state-run newspaper Ettela’at also criticized the economic conditions of the people in May 2024, warning about this issue and writing, “The undeniable reality in the lives of many families with fixed incomes and constantly fluctuating and rising expenses is this: there is a crisis in the general livelihood of the people.”
The decline in people’s purchasing power, along with the rising production costs, are factors contributing to the decrease in demand in the food and beverage sector.
