Pezeshkian: We Must Raise the Food Subsidy Card Amount as the Exchange Rate Has Risen

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on the night of Thursday, August 6, 2026 (15 Mordad 1405), coinciding with the second anniversary of his presidential inauguration, in a televised interview with the public carried by Mizan news agency and republished by Donya-e-Eqtesad, that the government must now raise the amount of the kalabarg food subsidy card because the exchange rate has risen. He said the government's approach is based on justice, noting that subsidies paid in the country have so far gone disproportionately to higher income deciles rather than lower ones.

Pezeshkian explained that the government's first step in this direction was paying the currency subsidy for basic goods directly to the final consumer through the kalabarg card, instead of paying it at the start of the import chain. He said this policy eliminated widespread corruption that had previously formed around preferential currency allocation, since it removed the ability to misstate prices to obtain more currency or to withhold export proceeds. In another part of the same interview, previously carried by Ecoiran, the president said the government is working to raise the kalabarg amount but is facing difficulty due to a shortage of foreign currency.