Bread Prices to Increase by 15%

EghtesadOnline: Retail prices of bread will increase by 15% as of Nov. 22, the head of Iran’s Traditional Bakers’ Union said.

News ID: ۷۸۰۴۷۴

18 November 2017

“The price hike would only cover expenses of workers, given the fact that bread prices have remained unchanged for the past three years,” Qasem Zera’atkar also told Mizan News Agency.  Over 72,000 licensed bakeries are operating in Iran, of which 80% are granted government subsidies and the rest buy flour at market rates. Industrial bakeries have a 20% share in the total bread production in Iran while the rest belongs to traditional bakers. When it comes to the consumer market, industrial bread accounts for as little as 12% of the market. Iranians are the second biggest consumers of bread in the world with a per capita rate of 160 kilograms per person, which is six times higher than the global average.  Turks consume the most bread with a per capita of 199 kg annually. In France and Germany, per capita bread consumption is 56 kg and 70 kg respectively. Annual bread production in Iran stands at 15 million tons, Financial Tribune reported.