Iran's food‑coupon subsidy lags sharply behind soaring inflation

Seven months after launching a food‑coupon scheme that allocates a monthly credit of one million rials per household, the Iranian government has not raised the coupon value despite a 134 % rise in food prices and overall inflation exceeding 60 %. Under the law, the coupon’s credit is to be adjusted quarterly based on price changes, but officials say no sustainable funding source has been found, so the amount stays fixed.

Parliamentary members note that instead of increasing the credit, the government has broadened the basket of covered items from the original 11 essentials to dozens of goods, including non‑basic products such as pizza cheese and mineral water. Calculations using official price data show the cost of the original 11‑item basket grew from about 4.6 million rials in early 2024 to over 5.4 million rials by June, while the coupon still offers only one‑million‑rial credit, covering less than one‑fifth of the needed amount. For a typical four‑person family, the monthly coupon value of four million rials is far below the more than 21 million rials required to purchase the full basket at current prices.