Iran: Food Price Changes Evaluated

EghtesadOnline: The Statistical Center of Iran has released a report reviewing price changes of food products in the Iranian month ending Sept. 22.

News ID: ۷۴۸۵۹۱

01 October 2019

The biggest month-on-month price rise was recorded for cucumbers with 23.9%. A kilogram of cucumbers was sold at 42,601 rials ($0,37).

The second and third biggest month-on-month price rise during the period under review were registered for oranges with 12.7% and packed foreign tea with 9.5%, SCI reported on its website.

A kilogram of oranges was sold at 133,260 rials ($1.17) and a kilogram of packed foreign teas went for 548,462 rials ($4.8) last month, Financial Tribune reported.

During the sixth Iranian month (Aug. 23-Sept. 22), prices of potatoes posted a decrease of 23% when compared with the month before. Tomatoes with a 15.5% and apples with 10.5% also experienced a month-on-month deflation.

A kilogram of potatoes was sold for 47,279 rials (41 cents), a kilogram of tomatoes went for 29,988 rials (26 cents) and a kilogram of apples hit 83,093 rials (73 cents).

The retail prices of tomato paste during the month under review increased by 134.9% compared with the same period of last year. A kilogram of tomato paste was sold at 212,746 rials ($1.8) to register the highest year-on-year price rise for a food item last month.

The second and third biggest year-on-year food price rise in the same month was registered for potatoes with 101.1% and packed foreign tea with 95.1%.

Eggs and tomatoes were the only items registering a year-on-year deflation last month. Egg prices decreased by 12.7% and tomato prices dropped by 4.7% compared with the same month of last year. A kilogram of eggs was sold at 89,035 rials (78 cents) last month.

With a coefficient of 26.64%, Consumer Price Index of “food and beverages” stood at 214.9 in the month ending Sept. 22, indicating a 1.4% decrease compared with the month before.

The “food and beverages” index registered a year-on-year increase of 46% compared with the similar month of last year.

CPI of “food and beverages” group in the 12-month period ending Sept. 22 increased by 62.6% year-on-year.

The monthly goods and services CPI growth fell to an 18-month low in the sixth month of the Iranian year.

The overall CPI (using the Iranian year to March 2017 as the base year) stood at 181.7 last month, indicating a 0.5% rise compared with the month before.

The consumer inflation registered a year-on-year increase of 35%.

The average goods and services CPI in the 12-month period ending Sept. 22 increased by 42.7% YOY. The annual inflation rate for the preceding Iranian month, which ended on Aug. 22, was 42.2%.

The index registered a year-on-year increase of 34.5% for urban areas and 38.1% for rural areas YOY.

The overall CPI reached 180.8 for urban households and 187.1 for rural households, indicating an increase of 0.6% for urban areas but no change for rural areas compared with the previous month.

Urban and rural 12-month inflation for the month under review was 41.9% and 47.4% respectively.

Last month, price drops were registered in four out of 12 items and services basket compared with the month before, namely “foods and beverages”, “tobacco”, “transportation” and “communications”.