The cost of a four-person family’s food basket in Iran has exceeded the total wages of a minimum-wage earner.

🔸A member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, by stating that the wages received by the lower income groups of society—especially workers—do not match the current inflation, called for a pay increase proportionate to the rise in living costs in the second half of the year.

🔸Mohsen Mousavi-Zadeh said on Monday, 26 Mordad, that he also referred to a clause in the 2025 wage bill stating that Clause 10 specifies a revision of “side benefits” of wages by the end of Shahrivar.

🔸The issue has been raised again in a context where a 60% increase in the minimum wage at the beginning of this year has been met with a new wave of price increases, especially in the food sector, to the extent that the cost of a food basket for a four-person family has increased by more than 15 million tomans compared to the total monthly wages of a minimum-wage earner.

🔸In Esfand last year, the High Labor Council set the monthly minimum wage for 1405 at around 16 million and 625 thousand tomans, and also recognized the workers’ household livelihood basket cost at 42 million and 900 thousand tomans.

🔸However, the latest official report from the Statistical Center of Iran shows that the consumer price index in Tir increased by 87.9% compared to Tir of the previous year. Annual inflation has reached 66%, and monthly inflation has reached 3.1%.

🔸Of course, not all inflation indicators in Tir increased compared to Khordad. Point-to-point inflation decreased from 88.6% in Khordad to 87.9% in Tir, and monthly inflation fell from 5.9% to 3.1%, but annual inflation increased from 62% to 66%.

🔸A decline in the monthly or point-to-point inflation rate does not mean that goods have become cheaper; it indicates a slowdown in the rate of price growth.

🔸For working households, the more important issue is the composition of this inflation. The price of the “Food and Beverages” group in Tir was, on average, 128.1% higher than in Tir last year—meaning the price level of this group has more than doubled in just one year.

🔸The prices of eight out of 10 main food groups have doubled at least over the course of a year. Among them, the prices of oils and fats were about 3.6 times, while milk, cheese, and eggs—as well as various types of meat and their products—were about 2.5 times, and bread and grains as well as fruit and dried fruits became about 2.2 times their previous-year prices.

🔸Read the full version of this report on the Radio Farda website.