February 18, 2022
Iran’s Health Ministry has announced that the consumption of milk and dairy products has dropped a third over the last two years.
The director of the ministry’s nutrition department, Zahra Abdollahi, said January 7 that the rise in food prices is the main reason people are consuming fewer milk products.
She said the country’s consumption has always been under the recommended amount, but the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and inflation have contributed to the sharp decline.
Abdollahi added that such low consumption of dairy products and consequently less calcium and phosphorus can cause serious health issues, particularly for children.
She stressed that osteoporosis is one of the leading diseases in Iran, warning that such a low consumption of dairy products can further increase the problem. She urged the authorities to consider subsidies and free milk for students.
The Iranian government has cut the subsidy on milk, which resulted in higher prices for dairy products, while free milk is no longer distributed in elementary schools.
Iran’s per capita consump-tion of dairy products is 60 to 80 kilograms a year or about half the global average.