A total of 4,000 tons of tea have been exported from Iran since the beginning of the current Iranian year on March 21, according to Habibollah Jahansaz, the head of Iran Tea Organization.
Based on average tea export prices in the last Iranian year (March 2018-19), this volume of exports is estimated to be worth $5 million.
“Our main export destinations are the neighboring countries of Azerbaijan, Iraq and Afghanistan," he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Iranian tea, Jahansaz had said earlier, is shipped to India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Canada, Australia, Spain, the Czech Republic and Georgia.
This year’s tea harvest season ended in October and the government purchased a total of 126,753 tons of green tea leaves from local farmers for 3.43 trillion rials ($30.66 million).
The crop undergoes three harvests a year: the spring harvest that starts in late April, the second in summer begins early June and the last one is in autumn and starts late September.
“About 28,519 tons of processed tea were derived from this amount of purchases, showing an 11% rise compared with the similar period of last year,” Jahansaz was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
The official attributes the growth in production to favorable weather conditions, government support in granting cheap loans and increasing guaranteed purchase prices.
“About 200,000 people in Iran have found direct employment in the tea industry. There are 178 tea factories across the country,” he said.
Tea is considered a strategic product in Gilan and Mazandaran, Iran’s tea cultivating provinces, with the significant effect it has on the rural and agricultural economy of the region.
Domestic production meets 20,000-25,000 tons of domestic tea demand annually which, according to Iran's Tea Association, stands at 120,000 tons per year. The share of local production has increased this year.
Iran consumes about 5% of the total world tea production per year.
According to Mohammad Ali Rouzbehan, the former head of Iran Tea Organization, Iranian tea is 100% natural and pesticide-free.
About 95% of tea orchards in Iran, which stretch over 25,000 hectares, are rain-fed. These orchards are usually located on hilltops where the extreme cold terminates a majority of the pests and the rest are dealt with through biological methods.
The 17th International Tea Exhibition concluded at Tehran’s Esteghlal International Hotel last month.
Top tea producers in Iran along with representatives of foreign companies, including those from Sri Lanka, India, Kenya and China (25 domestic and five foreign companies) were present at the expo, wrote the official website of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.
According to Hamidreza Movasseqi, the head of Iran Tea Association, Iran imports 65,000-70,000 tons of tea worth $300 million annually.
Sri Lanka, India and Kenya are the top exporters of the popular hot beverage to Iran.
He also noted that Iran produces 25,000 tons of tea per year, 13,000 tons of which are consumed domestically and the rest is exported.
The Commonwealth of Independent States continues to be the biggest importer of Indian teas, but Iran has emerged as the most promising market this year, The Hindu Business Line reported last week.
According to the latest data available with the Tea Board, CIS imported 48.23 million kg of teas from India by October and topped the list of importers. However, the volume shipped was down from 52.99 mkg recorded in January-October 2018.
The price also fell to $2.34 a kg from $2.38, due to exchange rate fluctuations. The overall earnings from shipments to the CIS dropped to Rs794.52 crore ($111.42 million) from Rs855.49 crore ($119.97 million).
Iran developed a keen taste for Indian teas and in the 10 months, imported 47.45 mkg against 23.70 mkg in January-October 2018.
Besides, Iran paid a higher price, that is Rs276.32 ($3.88) a kg against Rs244.54 ($3.43) in January-October 2018. With higher volume shipped at a better price, the overall earnings from exports to Iran more than doubled to Rs1,311.15 crore ($183.87 million) from Rs579.57 crore ($81.27 million).
