Iran's Food Price Inflation Surveyed

The second and third biggest month-on-month price rises during the period were recorded for onions with 13.6% and lamb with 9.1%, the Statistical Center of Iran reported. 

The retail prices of tomato paste during the month increased by 238.2% compared with the same period of last year. A kilogram of tomato paste went for 189,143 rials ($1.6) in the 10th Iranian month, to register the highest year-on-year price rise for a food item, SCI added. 

The second and third biggest year-on-year price rise in Dey among food items were registered for bananas and apples with 129.2% and 116.6%, respectively. A kilogram of bananas was sold at 128,793 rials (about $1) and a kilogram of apples went for 81,920 rials (69 cents), Financial Tribune reported.

The Consumer Price Index of “Food and Beverages” (using the Iranian year to March 2017 as the base year) stood at 179.9 in Dey, indicating a 3% rise compared with the previous month. 

The “Food and Beverages” index registered a year-on-year increase of 56.1% compared with the similar month of last year. 

The CPI of “Food and Beverages” group in the 12-month period ending Jan. 20 increased by 26.8% compared with last year’s corresponding period, SCI said. 

The subgroup of "red meat and poultry" saw the highest month-on-month inflation of 10.8% as the lowest rate was registered for the "oils and fats" subgroup with a 0.6% increase compared with the preceding month. 

As for year-on-year inflation, foods in the "unclassified foods" subgroup saw the highest rate of 107.2% followed by "fish and shellfish" with 82.5% as the “bread and grains" subgroup experienced the lowest rise of 28.7%.

Average 12-month inflation for foods included within the "unclassified foods" subgroup was put at 42.8%, the highest, followed by "fruits and nuts" with 38.6% as the CPI for "bread and grains" saw a 16.8% increase, the lowest subgroup within "food and beverages" in the 12-month period ending Jan. 20 compared with the corresponding period of last year. 

Inflation on Provincial Scale

Kurdestan Province’s goods and services Consumer Price Index registered a year-on-year increase of 49.2% in Dey compared with the similar month of last year—the highest among all provinces. 

The year-on-year CPI increase was the lowest for Qom with 31.9%, the Statistical Center of Iran reported. 

The overall goods and services CPI in Iran registered a YOY increase of 39.6% compared with the similar month of last year. 

The overall CPI calculated for the country (using the Iranian year to March 2017 as the base year) stood at 154.7 in Dey, indicating a 2% rise compared with the previous month. 

The growth in overall CPI compared with the previous month, Azar (Nov. 22-Dec. 21), was the highest (2.9%) for East Azarbaijan Province and lowest (0.6%) for Sistan-Baluchestan Province.   

The overall goods and services CPI in Iran in the 12-month period ending Jan. 20, increased by 20.6% compared with last year’s corresponding period. 

Lorestan registered the highest 12-month inflation with 24.8% while Kerman posted the lowest 12-month inflation of 16.3%. 

Annual inflation gap among provinces was 8.5% in Dey, indicating a 0.8% increase compared with the month before.