Iran widens food subsidy coverage amid rising living costs
The Iranian government has announced a major expansion of its food coupon program to help ease pressure on consumers from rising staple food prices.
Iran’s Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare said on Saturday that both the monthly credit allocated to consumers for purchasing basic food items and the number of people eligible to receive the benefit will increase starting next week.
Ahmad Meidari said the credit assigned to each individual will nearly triple to 10 million rials per month, while the number of beneficiaries will rise from 67 million to more than 80 million people, covering nearly 92% of Iran’s population.
Speaking to state television, Meidari said the government will also continue paying cash handouts to more than 70 million people, who currently receive an average of 4 million rials per month.
He added that the government had originally planned to launch the expanded food coupon program in October, noting that individuals will receive a total credit of 40 million rials for their January allocation to compensate for the four-month delay.
The announcement comes as the government seeks to ease pressure from rising consumer prices following its decision to remove preferential hard-currency subsidies previously allocated to imports of basic goods.
The government has also allowed importers to use their own foreign currency resources to bring in staple items, a move that has increased demand for hard currency in the market and contributed to higher prices.
These developments have triggered protests in several parts of Iran in recent days, with demonstrators calling for urgent government measures to curb rising living costs.
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