Why Baby Formula Has Become Scarce in Iran
iran shop milk powder
Written by
Mansoureh Galestan
The shortage of baby formula in Iran, either through imports or domestic production, is raising concerns among parents. They are now required to register for formula through a dedicated system using their national ID numbers. While this shortage affects newborns in the theocratic regime, those responsible for domestic production voice their objections to importing baby formula.
Hani Tahvilzadeh, the head of the Infant Formula Producers Association, pointed out on October 17 that “It has been six months since foreign currency has not been allocated for the import of infant formula. This has led to the closure of some infant formula production units, and more are expected to shut down in the coming months, despite imported infant formula being three times the cost of domestic production.”
The recent arrival of four million ready-made baby formula cans from Turkey has left domestic producers puzzled. This is because those in charge of producing infant formula admit that the demand was met with the production of 61 million cans last year. Over the past 15 years, Iran hasn’t needed to import baby formula, and it has even exported it to neighboring countries.
According to Tahvilzadeh, domestic infant formula factories have the capacity to produce 117 million cans, which is nearly double the country’s requirements. This begs the question why is there a shortage of baby formula in the market, depriving Iranian children? If foreign currency allocation for raw materials continues to be withheld for the next two months, this issue could become another crisis for the regime. Meanwhile, profiteering networks are seeking to obtain more foreign currency to import millions of cans of baby formula.
The terrorist regime of the mullahs has brought Iran to a breaking point, with even infant formula becoming a crisis. Out of five infant formula production factories, three are in debt for foreign currency, one has stopped production, and the last one is set to halt production within the next two months.
The primary reason is that the Central Bank does not allocate the necessary foreign currency to domestic producers. Instead, it is allocated at three times the rate given to state-backed importers to compensate for the lack of baby formula. Therefore, Iranian citizens are now given coupons to obtain baby formula, and they are forced to witness this deplorable situation with the fate of their children at stake.
#Iran News in Brief
Mohammad Reza Mahboobfar, a state-affiliated social researcher, said that in the last 10 days alone, about 5,000 #babies have been abandoned across the country.#povertyhttps://t.co/NlDEVRscVt pic.twitter.com/I16izWex3x
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) May 27, 2022
The Central Bank claims that domestic factories owe $69.8 million, equivalent to 3 trillion tomans, in foreign currency debts, and the Central Bank lacks the capability to secure foreign currency for infant formula. However, the Food and Drug Administration of Iran, which is responsible for the allocation of foreign currency to producers, has announced its agreement to import 30 million cans of infant formula.
Infant formula rationing is not limited to deprived areas like Sistan and Baluchestan but is affecting other provinces, including parts of Tehran. As of October 12, it became mandatory to provide a national ID and the baby’s birthdate to pharmacies to procure infant formula.
The IRGC-run Fars News agency confirmed that government-provided allergy-friendly infant formula was scarce in cities such as Qom, Isfahan, Mashhad, and Neyshabur, and even in Tehran pharmacies. If found, the price of infant formula has doubled compared to when preferential foreign exchange rates were in place.
For example, “Nan” infant formula, which was 43,000 tomans last year, now costs 80,000 tomans. “Bebilac 1” has increased from 40,000 to 72,000 tomans, and “Hipp Organic” infant formula has surged from 229,000 tomans to 450,000 tomans.
My latest commentary: "How Much is a Baby Worth in #Iran?" https://t.co/dYm0DyvIe8
— Ali Safavi (@amsafavi) April 21, 2022
While the government’s mafia neglects imports to deprived children, families cannot afford to secure their children’s food. Meanwhile, Ensieh Khazali, a presidential deputy in Women’s Affairs, is impudently calling on families to have five to six children to increase “national strength.”
Consistent calls by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as well as other state officials for increased childbirth have left observers questioning themselves when the regime will eventually have to confront the repercussions of its policies that are detrimental to the people. Overwhelmed by an interwoven complex of economic, social, and political crises, the regime’s desperate attempts to generate more cash are creating new crises of their own.