Gasoline Hike Affects Prices of Goods in Iran

Iran

November 26th, 8:56am

London - Asharq Al-Awsat

People buy fruits and vegetables from Tajrish Bazaar in Tehran, Iran August 1, 2019. (Reuters)

With popular protests rocking the streets against an increase in fuel prices, Iranian lawmakers are discussing the implications of the decision to up prices of goods. After the US withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, the cleric-led country has been suffering an ailing economic crisis. Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said that some government companies have increased the price of their products by a 50 to 25 percent rate despite government promises to fight any upsurge in prices of goods following the spike in fuel rates. Meanwhile, IRNA reported a substantial sudden rise in the price of tomato in various parts of the country after the government increased the price of gasoline. According to IRNA, most of the rise in the price of commodities during the past 10 days are attributed to the rise in transportation cost. The agency said this explains the unusual rise in the price of fruits and vegetables between 30 to 50 percent. IRNA’s assertion goes against officials' attempts to reassure Iranians that prices will go unaffected by the sudden decision to increase fuel and gasoline prices. Larijani said at an open session on Monday that he has received reports about rising prices in the market, and called on executive authorities to control the prices. Previously, Gholamreza Hassanpour, Chairman of the Market Basij told Mehr news agency that 500,000 Basij militia have been assigned to control the prices in the markets. He particularly insisted that the government should determine the taxi fares as soon as possible as the cost of transportation affects almost everyone. Reza Rahmani, who heads Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade in the government of President Hassan Rouhani, said on Monday that a price hike for diesel, a fuel widely used in Iran’s road transportation system will have major implications that affect the prices of basic goods. Inflation in Iran was already above 40 percent when the gasoline price hike went into effect. The country’s currency has declined fourfold in two years and US sanctions have cut off oil exports, which was the biggest source of hard-currency revenue for the government.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2008926/gasoline-hike-affects-prices-goods-iran