State-run media outlets reported on Saturday, May 9, a new wave of price increases for essential goods and basic necessities; a wave affecting bread, sugar, oil, rice, chicken, and eggs, further intensifying economic pressure on Iranian households.
The state-run Etemad newspaper, in a report on rising bread prices, wrote that increased production costs—from insurance and workers’ wages to energy, yeast, and rent—have led to the implementation of new bread prices. Based on the new rates, the price of lavash bread has reached 20,000 rials, sangak bread 80,000 rials, plain barbari bread 165,000 rials, and taftoon and local bread 350,000 rials.
Iranians Struggle to Afford Basic Food Basket as Prices Surge
At the same time, sugar prices have also increased. The state-run IRNA news agency, quoting the deputy minister of agriculture of the Iranian regime, stated that rising production costs in the new year are the main reason for the price hikes. Under the new rates, each kilogram of bulk sugar at the factory gate has been set at 950,000 rials, while a 900-gram package of sugar is priced at 1.25 million rials.
At present, the price of one U.S. dollar is around 1.9 million rials, while the minimum monthly salary of a worker is approximately $127.
Meanwhile, statistics released by the regime’s Statistical Center indicate an unprecedented surge in food prices. Solid vegetable oil, with a 375% increase compared to April of last year, has become the record-holder for food inflation, with its price rising from about 810,000 rials to more than 3.85 million rials.
Liquid cooking oil follows with more than a 308% price increase, as the cost of a 900-milliliter bottle has risen from about 740,000 rials to more than 3 million rials.
Additionally, first-grade imported rice with a 209% increase, industrial chicken with a 191% increase, mayonnaise with a 190% increase, and industrial eggs with more than a 170% increase are among other goods that have experienced massive price surges over the past year; a trend that continues to shrink the tables of millions of Iranian families every day.
