Azerbaijan, Baku, May 1/Trend M. Moezzi
Even as a second phase of its subsidy reform plan's fate remains undecided, the Iranian government has ordered the immediate storage of $2 billion in basic goods as preparations for the program's commencement.
The order by the executive branch comes even as the Speaker of Iran's Majlis (parliament) has asked the country's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, to delay the program's start, Mehr news agency reports.
The government has already allocated $22 to $24 billion to import and store 20 kinds of basic goods.
The new order covers rice, cooking oil, sugar, red meat, chicken, wheat, corn and barley.
Started in December 2011, the subsidy program pays out $37 (USD), to Iranians while eliminating subsidies for energy carriers and some commodities. Recently, the Iranian government transferred about $23, to Iranians' accounts for the second phase of the program without approval from the Majlis (parliament). The subsidies program, which was supposed to pay for itself, has a $16 billion deficit.
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