The inflation rate in Iran's urban areas in the past Iranian calendar year, which ended March 2013, reached 31.5 percent, semi-official Mehr news agency reported Monday.

Citing information from the state Statistics Center, the report said the inflation rate of food stuff hit 57 percent in the period.

Iran's inflation rate in the 12-month period ended on the tenth Iranian calendar month (from Dec. 21, 2012 to Jan. 19, 2013) hit 28.7 percent, Tehran Times daily reported in February.

Economic observers, however, say that Iran's real inflation rate must be much higher than the official figures.

In December 2012, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, Shamseddin Hosseini, said the Iranian administration had special plans to curb a probable surge in inflation during the final months of the past Iranian calendar year, ended on March 20, 2013.

"Since recent rises in prices of goods are in close relation with rises in foreign currency rates, so we should rein in foreign currency shocks," said Hosseini.

Due to the Western sanctions on Iran's energy sector and financial system over the latter's controversial nuclear program, the local currency depreciated sharply against foreign currencies in the past year.

Mehr reported in January that the Iranian government and Majlis (parliament) had agreed to distribute staple food coupons to some 17 million Iranians in a move to assist the low-income families.

In a joint meeting, the government and the Majlis agreed to give out rice, sugar and cooking oil to the poor and allocate two billion U.S. dollars to support low-income families in light of shortages of basic commodities and high inflation rate. Endi

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