Page 59 - IRANRptJul22

9.1.7 Healthcare sector news
Prices of essential drugs ‘quadruple in Iran amid move to cut major subsidy’
Prices of some essential drugs have reportedly more than quadrupled in Iran amid plans announced by the cash-strapped government to end a major subsidy.
Skyrocketing prices of pharmaceuticals were likely to surge further when the government officially withdraws the subsidy, a prospect that has triggered alarm and anger in Iran, RFE/RL reported.
In 2018, then-president Hassan Rouhani brought in the subsidy to provide billions in subsidised dollars for Iranian manufacturers to import shipments of essential food and medicine. The objective was to control prices even though the Iranian rial was severely depreciated in the wake of the US reinstating swingeing sanctions against Tehran. There is now anxiety that the ending of the subsidy will cause Iranian drug companies to hike prices.
"Medication is not something you can live without," a Tehran resident who did not want to be named told RFE/RL's Radio Farda. "Many people may not be able to afford medicine anymore. But they will be forced to buy them at any price just to save their lives."
Ending the subsidy would save the current Raisi administration around $9bn annually state media reported.
There is, meanwhile, confusion caused by contradictory statements from officials over whether the government has already cut the subsidy. Amid that confusion, prices have continued to ascend at a rapid rate.
US sanctions on Iran supposedly exclude food and medicine. But in reality, the restrictions have made it difficult for Tehran to purchase some drugs, according to Human Rights Watch.
9.1.8 Agricultural sector news
Union warns mass closures of Iranian poultry farms could be ahead because of state price caps
Iran could see mass closures of poultry farms in the next three months as a result of a government plan to rein in food inflation with price caps, Sarpoosh has reported.
Habib Asadollahnejad, CEO of the National Union of Broiler Farmers was cited by the Iranian publication as saying that average production costs in the industry were nearly 50,000 tomans per kg ($1.51 based on the free market exchange rate), while the wholesale price was limited to 30,000 tomans per kg ($0.90).
Farmers were losing the incentive to keep operating with such farm-gate prices, despite promises from officials that subsidies would buoy their working capital, Asadollahnejad was further reported as saying.
In early May, Iran was hit by unrest after the government cut subsidies for eggs, chicken, dairy products and cooking oil. The authorities mounted an aggressive crackdown. Several protesters are thought to have been killed, according to local human rights activists.
The rising price of grain on the global market and the severe depreciation of the Iranian currency have pushed up poultry production prices. Both small and big operations are said to be feeling the heat.
Mohammad Yousefi, spokesperson for the National Union of Broiler Farmers, has estimated that Iran produces nearly 2.3mn tonnes of broiler meat annually, but that there is a downward trend in production volume. “The Minister of Agriculture has given an ultimatum to the producers that if they shut down farms, they would have to pay heavy fines. These warnings are irrational. If the government wants farms to keep running, it will buy chicken for 60,000 tomans
59 IRAN Country Report July 2022 www.intellinews.com