{"id":344812,"date":"2026-05-02T16:56:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T15:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=344812"},"modified":"2026-05-02T16:56:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T15:56:22","slug":"iran-faces-deepening-economic-crisis-amid-war-blockades-and-policy-failures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/economy\/iran-faces-deepening-economic-crisis-amid-war-blockades-and-policy-failures\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran Faces Deepening Economic Crisis Amid War, Blockades, and Policy Failures"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"People
Iran \u2014 An elderly couple negotiates prices at a small neighborhood shop, reflecting the daily strain of rising costs and economic hardship<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s economy is spiraling under the combined weight of a prolonged digital blackout, collapsing agricultural output, a collapsing currency, and a near-total halt in oil exports, according to multiple domestic and international reports compiled in recent days. The crisis has triggered record inflation, mass job losses, and widespread payment delays to farmers, pushing the country toward what analysts describe as a multi-dimensional collapse.<\/p>\n

Agricultural Production in Free Fall<\/h2>\n

Production of staple crops has plummeted. The UN\u2019s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported<\/a> a 4.3 million-ton drop in wheat output last year, with forecasts for a further 500,000-ton decline this year to just 12.5 million tons. Rice production fell 7% to 3.9 million tons, while other grains plunged 29% to 3.6 million tons, with drought cited as the primary driver.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the government has failed to pay domestic wheat farmers. Ataollah Hashemi<\/a>, head of the National Wheat Farmers Foundation, told ILNA that despite one month of harvesting in southern provinces and the delivery of nearly 300,000 tons of wheat to state silos, not a single rial has been paid\u2014despite promises of settlement within one week. The government has set the purchase price at 49,500 tomans per kilogram, aligned with global rates if the currency stabilizes, and reintroduced a preferential exchange rate of 28,500 tomans per dollar for wheat imports. However, actual imports remain heavily disrupted.<\/p>\n

Iran imports roughly one-third of its wheat needs and far higher shares of other grains used in animal feed (90% of corn and 50% of barley). In the first 10 months of the previous year, 2.75 million tons of wheat were imported, valued at nearly $1 billion, with 55% from Russia, 25% from the UAE, and 19% from Turkey. Bloomberg reported<\/a> a 40% drop in agricultural imports in March due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

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"The Iranian regime is confronting its most severe economic crisis in years, with basic food prices doubling in months, the national #currency<\/a> in freefall and the government forced to let citizens buy essentials on credit backed by future subsidies," writes @MansoreGolestan<\/a>.\u2026<\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 29, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n