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Peugeot 206 and 405 cars. The parts for these vehicles are now made by Iranian companies.
Mehdi Sadeghi Niaraki, Iran’s deputy industry, mining and trade minister for industrial affairs, reportedly said that the project was aimed at helping local businesses invest in new technology so that Iran can reverse engineer products and rely less on international supply chains, thus bringing the cost of production down markedly.
“In line with the ‘surge in production’ movement, the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade is trying to use all existing capacities in the country,” the official said while launching the new programme.
In July, Niaraki said €277mn was signed over to auto part companies and automakers to indigenise the production of parts seen in foreign brands. It is believed the parts he was referring to included Peugeot 301 components. Iran’s industrial production index increased by 1.5% y/y in the second quarter of 2020.
4.2 Inflation 4.2.1 CPI dynamics
Inflation in Iran to grow 30.5% in 2020, says IMF
Iran suffers high food inflation, country is ‘scrambling to buy wheat, corn, soybeans to shore up reserves’
Iranian consumer prices in 2019 rose 41% and were on course to grow 30.5% in 2020 and 30% in 2021, the IMF said. However, the official annual inflation rate now stands at 46.2% (compared with less than 10% at the point in May 2018 that Trump quit the nuclear deal) and price growth is very unevenly spread among the various goods and services categories. Food and drink price growth is alarming to many Iranians, with complaints cited by UPI that chicken, rice and egg prices have nearly doubled over the past year while fresh fruit, beans and vegetable oil prices have increased by around threefold.
Iran’s annual inflation rate for foodstuffs, drinking water, beverages and tobacco products was more than 42% in the 12-month period ending March 20, the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI) said on May 7. The rate of inflation in the non-food and services categories stood at 31.4%, it added. The severe depreciation of the Iranian rial (IRR) in the face of US sanctions is driving high inflation rates in Iran.
Also on May 7, Reuters reported that Iran is scrambling to buy millions of tonnes of wheat, corn and soybeans to shore up its reserves. The news
18 IRAN Country Report February 2021 www.intellinews.com
