World Food Day; Extravagance in the time of inflation 5 million tons of food is wasted in Iran every year

Today is World Food Day, and Iranian researchers' research shows that Iranians have recorded about five million tons of food waste in Behobobe Torm every year.

Economic Group - Anahita Mohib Ali; A review of the data of the Iran Statistics Center published by the Iran Open Data Institute in July 2026 shows the dimensions of the long-term increase in food prices. According to the price index of food items in urban areas, from May 1394 to May 1405, the price index of liquid oil has increased more than 70 times, chicken nearly 57 times, eggs more than 51 times, veal meat 46 times and Iranian rice almost 42 times.

The pressure on food prices has continued in 2026. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported in Iran's food price warning in February 2026 that after the fall in the value of the rial, the retail price of wheat flour in the Tehran market increased by 120% in one month and by 200% compared to the previous year and reached about 520 thousand rials per kilo. The price of rice was also reported to be about 370% higher compared to January 2024.

How does the price pressure the quality of the food basket?

The effect of food inflation in the household purchase mix can also change. When meat, dairy, fruit, and other nutritious items become more expensive, families may cut back on these products, switch to cheaper options, or postpone consumption of certain items.

A study published in Scientific Reports on May 4, 2026, by examining the food security structure of rural households in Gorgan city, identified inflation as the most important influencing factor among the investigated factors. This study has been done using the opinion of public sector experts and the method of structural modeling.

food waste; A cost that becomes heavier in an inflationary economy

In a report published in 2026 in Depiction of Health, researchers of Qom University of Medical Sciences, by reviewing studies and documents from 2015 to 2025, estimated the amount of food waste in Iran to be around 5 million tons per year.

This research introduces the weak storage and supply chain infrastructures, climatic conditions, economic and social factors, and inappropriate storage and consumption methods as factors affecting food wastage. Also, researchers have pointed out the confusion about the date written on the packaging of products as one of the behavioral factors related to dumping.

Iranian table; Simultaneous pressure on price, variety and consumption

The multifold increase in the price index of food items, the jump in the price of flour and rice in 2026 and the estimate of several million tons of food waste show three related dimensions of the food economy in Iran: the cost of providing food, the household's ability to maintain the variety of the shopping basket and the resources that are lost in the chain of production to consumption.

In such a situation, the quality of the table cannot be measured only by the amount of food purchased; Variety of products, nutritional value, food safety and the family's ability to replace the spoiled product are also important. As the cost of providing food increases, food loss can put more pressure on the household budget.