Iran food prices surged nearly 50 per cent in September

TEHRAN (AFP) - The rise in food prices accelerated in Iran in September, when the cost of a basket of 45 staple items showed a mighty leap of nearly 50 percent, a newspaper reported on Sunday, citing central bank figures.

For the three months of Tir, Mordad and Shahrivar (July to September), year-on-year food price inflation was 28.98, 40.08 and 48.46 percent respectively, taking the average increase for the period to 39.2 percent, Kargozaran newspaper said.

Items in the basket include meat, beans, rice, sugar, fruits and dairy products.

Many economists have accused President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of directly fuelling price rises by ploughing huge amounts of cash into the economy to fund local infrastructure projects.

In spite of efforts by the central bank to shrink the excessive volume of loans, analysts say the government has already injected so much oil money into the economy that inflation will remain high for months and years to come.

Ahmadinejad last week replaced the head of the central bank, Tahmasb Mazaheri, in a bid to bring more harmony to his economic team around his expansionary policies.