Page 19 - IRANRptFeb22

Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Venezuela.
“In its (present) sanctioned state hydrocarbons account for less than 10% of Iran’s GDP. To put this in perspective, 12% of the UK’s economy is generated by tourism, but no-one would describe the UK as a tourist-dependent economy.”
Iran’s industrial production decreased 1.6% y/y in the third quarter of 2021, compared to a rise of 9.1% and 5.8 y/y in the first and second quarters of 2021, respectively.
4.2 Inflation
4.2.1 CPI dynamics
Iran’s president sounds food price inflation alert, issues special orders
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has issued an order to the agriculture ministry to take measures to curb food price inflation, IRINN reported on February 2.
With annual inflation running at over 40% and inflation rates around the world climbing, food prices in Iran are increasing across the board, with wholesale ingredient price rises on international markets one particular headache. Back in 2009, the then Ahmadinejad administration issued a national order for price stamps on all locally produced food items to limit inflationary pressures on food. In recent years, Iranian shopkeepers have routinely ignored recommended retail prices (RRP), overcharging customers.
At an economic commission meeting headed by the president, Raisi said that the weekly monitoring of the market situation was producing “worrying” results. He eHe Hordered the agriculture ministry to “take the necessary steps to manage food item prices”.
During the meeting, the government proposed a package of incentives aimed at removing obstacles to local production to help fight off further inflationary pressures.
Much of Iran’s inflation has set in because of the reintroduction of US sanctions in 2018 that obliterated the value of the Iranian rial (IRR).
Prior to the meeting, on January 31, the parliamentary budget committee in an extraordinary meeting, rejected Raisi’s plan to eliminate the state’s subsidised dollar rate for importing essential goods.
A committee member, Rahim Zare, told IBENA that the committee did not
19 IRAN Country Report February 2022 www.intellinews.com