The retail price of onions in the month ending April 20 increased by 459.5% compared with the same period of last year.
A kilogram of onions was sold at 110,872 rials (77 cents) to register the highest year-on-year price rise for a food item during the month, the Statistical Center of Iran reported.
In the first Iranian month (March 21-April 20), prices of onions posted an increase of 143.3% compared with the previous month
In a bid to contain runaway prices of onion, the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade banned the export of onions as of April 4, in a directive sent to the Islamic Republic of Iran's Customs Administration.
The second and third biggest year-on-year food price rise in the same month was registered at 234.7% and 207.8% for tomato paste and potatoes respectively.
This is while the second and third biggest month-on-month price rise during the period was recorded for potatoes with 59.1% and oranges with 25.5%.
A kilogram of tomato paste was sold for 194,734 rials ($1.3), potatoes 56,698 rials (39 cents) and oranges 79,943 rials (56 cents).
Eggs and chicken saw a respective price decline of 4.1% and 2.8% compared with the previous month. A kilogram of eggs was sold at 91,550 rials (63 cents) and chicken 144,716 rials (about $1).
SCI figures show that a year-on-year rise in egg price was the slowest compared with other foodstuffs: They were 11.7% more expensive in the month ending April 20 compared with the corresponding period of last year.
The Consumer Price Index of “food and beverages” stood at 218.4 in the month ending April 20, indicating a 9% rise compared with the previous month.
Prices of eggs and chicken saw a respective month-on-month decrease of 4.1% and 2.8% respectively
The “food and beverages” index registered a year-on-year increase of 84.4% compared with the similar month of last year.
CPI of “Food and Beverages” group in the 12-month period ending April 20 increased by 43.5% compared with last year’s corresponding period, SCI reported.
Overall, consumer inflation in Iran registered a year-on-year increase of 51.4% in the month to April 20 compared with the similar month of last year.
CPI (using the Iranian year to March 2017 as the base year) stood at 170.9, indicating a 4% rise compared with the previous month.
The average goods and services Consumer Price Index in the 12 months ending April 20 increased by 30.6% compared with last year’s corresponding period.
SCI had put the average annual inflation rate for the preceding Iranian month, which ended on March 20, at 26.9%.
Consumer price inflation in rural areas has remained higher than that of urban areas. The index registered a year-on-year increase of 50% for urban areas and a 59.4% for rural areas compared with the similar month of last year.
The overall CPI reached 169.3 for urban households and 180.1 for rural households, indicating an increase of 3.7% for urban areas and 5.8% for rural areas compared with the previous month.
SCI put average annual inflation for urban and rural areas at 30.2% and 32.6% respectively.
