TEHRAN, Iran, May 9. Iran's government is to
pay subsidies to traditional bakeries to compensate for the rise in
the price of flour, the head of the traditional baker union Asghar
Pabarja told Trend.
He pointed out that the government subsidies plan is a positive
move, however it does not include industrial bread producers.
"Only bakeries with licenses can receive flour subsidies," he said.
"There are 100 bakeries out of 1,000 Tehran traditional bakeries
that are working without license and will be forced to buy flour at
free market rate."
He went on to say that the government would pay subsides in two
phases.
"Consumers would have to pay the lower price and the government
pays the subsidy to bakeries at the second phase," Pabarja
said.
According to the official, 10 percent of Tehran bakeries do not
have working licenses, therefore they could no longer survive the
mounting prices.
Since the Iranian government ended subsidies for imported wheat on
May 1, the cost of flour has soared by around 500 percent and is
expected to increase further.