More than 15 tons of saffron have been exported from Iran since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 20), which shows a 40% year-on-year decline, the deputy head of Iran’s National Saffron Council said recently.
“Iran’s saffron export destinations are struggling with the novel coronavirus just like us. The international markets are in doldrums and demand for this Persian delicacy has fallen. As a result, saffron prices have dropped as well,” Gholamreza Miri was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
The official told Young Journalists Club that Iran exported 251 tons of saffron during the last fiscal year that ended on March 19, 2020, registering no significant change compared to the year before.
The official added that 80-85% of Iranian saffron production are exported annually to 47 countries.
“We are hoping that after the pandemic is over, markets will be back to business and the decline in exports we have experienced so far this year can be compensated,” he said.
Miri noted that land under saffron cultivation has increased in Iran, adding that the crop is being cultivated in 23 provinces across the country this year.
“Due to favorable weather and high precipitation levels, an ample harvest is on the horizon,” he said.
With Iran tangled up in economic sanctions, the export of this bumper product faces serious challenges, especially after the worldwide spread of Covid-19 further complicated the situation.
The saffron industry in Iran has created around 200,000 jobs along the pre-harvest, harvest, post-harvest, processing, sorting and packaging chain. The livelihoods of these people, farmers in particular, depend largely on exports.
Iran’s Deputy Agriculture Minister Ali Tahmasebi said in December that Iran’s area under saffron cultivation exceeds 115,000 hectares, which are 20 times bigger than the total land dedicated to saffron in the whole world, adding that Iran is annually increasing its area under saffron cultivation by 5,000 hectares.
Tahmasebi said planting saffron is no longer restricted to the three provinces of North Khorasan, South Khorasan and Khorasan Razavi.
“Farmers now also harvest saffron in various parts of the country, including Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari Province, a cold and mountainous region in central Iran, as well as in Khuzestan, a southern province known for its hot and humid climate,” he said.
Iran is the world’s biggest producer of saffron, the most expensive spice in the world, and accounts for about 90% of global production.
Per capita consumption of saffron in Iran stands at 1 gram. Annually, 80 tons of saffron are consumed domestically.
Iran exports saffron mostly through the UAE, according to Mohsen Ehtesham, the head of Iran's National Council of Saffron.
The main export destinations for Iranian saffron, he said, are Spain, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Italy, Afghanistan, Qatar, India, Germany and France.
Experts say Iran is not properly benefiting from the lucrative international business of saffron, mainly because of bulk production methods and increased smuggling to neighboring countries. They believe Iran could have a much higher share of the international saffron trade, if more work is done on branding and marketing of the product inside the country.
Observers say two-thirds of Iran’s annual production of saffron, amounting to 300 tons, go to the bulk sale, while others suggest around 20 tons are being smuggled out and mainly to neighboring Afghanistan.
Sources within the industry say smuggling to Afghanistan has increased because the traditional customers of Iranian saffron, like Spanish companies, seek to avoid direct imports due to the American sanctions imposed on the country.
