TEHRAN, Iran, Sep. 29
Trend:
Iran's policy of eliminating subsidized foreign exchange rate for food import will lead to an increase in inflation rate and commodity prices, an economic researcher told Trend in an interview
The price of food items is being affected directly and indirectly by the change in the subsidized foreign exchange rate that was assigned by the Central Bank of Iran to importers, Ehsan Soltani noted.
The government assigned a foreign exchange rate of 42,000 rials per US dollar for the import of sugar was halted in the current Iranian year (started March 21, 2021) and the price is currently set based on NIMA foreign exchange rate.
The price of fruit in the domestic market was indirectly affected by the change in export price as well, he indicated.
The assignment of NIMA foreign exchange rate for food import is dropping and some importers are struggling while global food price increased between 30 to 40 percent based on FAO index price.
Drought is another effective factor that is expected to increase food prices in the second half of the year especially the price of items such as meat, he predicted.
The decline of household purchasing power in Iran has been unprecedented, he noted.