Iran’s health ministry has announced that the average consumption of milk and dairy products has decreased about 30 percent in the last two years.

The director of the ministry’s nutrition department, Zahra Abdollahi, said on Friday that the rise in food prices and inflationare the main reasons that have made people consume less milk products.

She noted that the country’s average 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 among people, particularly in children.

She stressed that currently osteoporosis is one of the leading diseases in Iran, warning that such a low consumption of dairy products can further increase such problems in the coming years.

Mentioning some reports that predict a 60-percent rise in the price of milk products in the coming months, she urged the authorities to consider subsidies and plans for free-of-charge milk for students.

The Iranian government has cut the subsidy on milk, which resulted in higher prices for dairy products, while free-of-charge milk is no longer distributed in elementary schools.

Despite having the biggest dairy products factory in the Middle East, Iran has a per capita consumption of about 60 to 80 kilograms a year, that is about half of the global average.