Food prices in Iran have risen almost 25 percent in one year, official figures released on Sunday showed, twice the overall official rate of inflation. Figures from the Central Bank of Iran, carried in Iranian newspapers, showed the bank's food basket cost 24.46 percent more in the first month of the Iranian year, starting March 21, than in the same month a year ago.
Iranians are feeling the pinch not only from global food prices rises but also from the government's decision to slash subsidies on essentials like food and fuel - a move which increased the price of gasoline by between 400 and 700 percent overnight in December and caused utility bills to soar.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said the subsidy cuts will not impact inflation and that monthly cash payments of 450,000 rials (about $45) per person will enable Iranians to avoid any hardship.
But despite government reassurances, retail prices have been rising steadily from a 25-year low of 8.8 percent in August - still way below 2008 levels of around 30 percent but on a consistently upward trend.
Iran's official inflation rate was 12.4 percent during the last Iranian year which ended on March 20, but many Iranians believe prices are rising much faster in reality. The new food price data shows that inflation is hitting family budgets, with the price of some staples soaring. Eggs cost nearly double what they did a year ago, the figures showed. A common type of bread rose 50 percent after state wheat subsidies were cut.
One indication that Iranians fear a rise in inflation is a significant increase in demand for gold, the safe-haven precious metal which, like food, has seen soaring prices on global markets.
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