Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeIran News NowIran Economy NewsIran Purchasing Power Plummets as the Cost of Living Rises by 50%

Iran Purchasing Power Plummets as the Cost of Living Rises by 50%

Iran Purchasing Power Plummets as the Cost of Living Rises by 50%

Iran’s deeply troubled economy has seen rampant inflation and soaring prices affecting the goods that Iranians need most and leaving many unable to buy enough food to eat.

Iran’s Center for Statistics said that the average Iranian family’s cost of living has risen by 50% in this Persian calendar year alone and that wage increases are almost insignificant in comparison.

The state-run newspaper Arman wrote back in May: “The Center for Statistics’ report about inflation until May shows that costs for the food and beverages group have decreased by 0.2 per cent compared to April. However, these numbers have increased by 74.1 per cent compared to May of last year.”

They also provided a table showing the costs, which you can view here, but it boils down to food and beverage costs increasing by over 70% in the past year, while wages have not increased by any more than 20%. This basically equates to an over 50% rise in the cost of feeding your family in just one year.

Iran_Purchasing_Power_Plummets_as_the_Cost_of_Living_Rises_by_50-1

Meanwhile, the state-run Jahanesanat newspaper wrote that the regime’s own statistics show that a family of four earning the minimum wage earns 22.5 million rials less than they need to survive.

However, in reality, this is the best case scenario because the regime’s statistics are notably unreliable, designed to make the regime look good at any cost. Outside analysts put the poverty line for a family of four at over 60 million rials per month, which means many working families are earning 40 million rials less than they need to survive and the situation is only getting worse.

On June 19, the state-run Resalat newspaper wrote: “In the Persian year 2017-2018, about 16 percent of the country’s population lived under the extreme poverty line. Until the end of the Persian year 2018-2019, about 23 to 40 percent (based on different scenarios for the family’s income in the Persian year 2018-2019) will slip under the poverty line and the costs for providing basic living standards will increase dramatically.”

Jahanesanat has also written an article about poverty and the lack of purchasing power, which assesses that falling purchasing power will lead to decreased sales of manufactured goods and this will lead to more layoffs and greater poverty.

Jahanesanat, which is close to the faction of Iranian regime President Hassan Rouhani, wrote: “The price shocks in the market, which are undoubtedly run by the government itself, are not limited to price increases for one or two consumer goods or food items. Today, when you look at each and every item, you will see that their prices have increased compared to the similar period last year. From housing costs and rents to the costs of fruits, vegetables, meat, and everything that is called basic goods. However, government officials do not take any action in response to these catastrophic price increases.”

Meanwhile the mullahs’ regime wastes the nation’s wealth on pursuit of WMD projects, supporting terror in the region and propping up the Assad dictatorship in Syria. The rest is pocketed by the mullahs and the Revolutionary Guards.