Tuesday, April 02, 2013

Iranians shell-shocked by the price of pistachios...

This should be the time of year that nut shop owner Mohammad Ahmadi counts his profits, after the recent Persian new year holiday when Iranians scarf up huge amounts of their iconic snack, pistachios. Instead, he and others in the trade are staring at piles of unsold nuts.

Iranians have rebelled against a nut that is as linked to their national identity as apple pie is to America’s or feta cheese to Greece’s. A Facebook-driven boycott of pistachios has taken off, protesting prices that more than doubled in recent months.

“The number of customers has dropped terribly,” said Ahmadi, looking out at busy streets where few customers turned into his shop in the Salsabil neighbourhood of downtown Tehran.

The beloved pistachio has become another casualty of Iran’s sanctions-battered economy. The embracing of the boycott reflects the public dismay over inflation now at 30 per cent, ahead of the June presidential election to pick a successor for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Yet, the government, which usually tries to contain Iranians’ anger over the economy, has heartily backed the pistachio boycott — again for reasons tied to the Western-led sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program. Pistachio exports provide a small but important pipeline for foreign revenues at a time when sanctions are squeezing Iran’s oil and gas sales. Authorities say fewer nuts consumed at home means more available to sell abroad. Full story...

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