Iran to continue subsidizing red meat imports
The Iranian government has reversed its decision to remove subsidies from imports of red meat amid concerns that the move could jeopardize food security for tens of millions of people.
Iran’s ministry of agriculture (MAJ) said on Saturday that the government will continue to subsidize meat imports in the calendar year to March by allocating US dollar at a price of 285,000.
MAJ’s deputy for trade Shahrzad Moshiri said that the office of the Iranian vice-presidency had notified the ministry that red meat will continue to be on the country’s list of basic foods that enjoy government subsidies.
“The current government is doing its utmost to keep meat affordable for people,” said Moshiri.
The announcement came more than a month after Iran’s Plan and Budget Organization said that meat would no longer be covered by heavy food subsidies while insisting on its position that businesses have to receive hard currency at prices above 700,000 per rial for imports of the staple.
That comes as the free market price of the dollar is currently above 800,000 rials.
However, parliament lawmakers and MAJ officials have repeatedly warned that the decision could cause meat prices to skyrocket, leaving many people with no option but to replace meat with cheaper foods.
Unconfirmed estimates suggest that meat consumption has already dropped in Iran because of high prices caused by inflation.
Moshiri said that subsidized imports were responsible for 27% of the local demand in the year to late March 2025, including 7% of the demand for fresh meat.
She said the government will also offer more support to local production to be able to respond to the rising demand for meat in Iran.
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