Iran’s share in the $8 billion global saffron market is less than $200 million while the country produces 92% of all saffron produced in the world, a deputy agriculture minister said.
“When more than 25% of a given commodity’s production belong to one country, the pricing and interests of that product in the world must be held by the same country, but this is not the case with Iran,” Mohammad-Mehdi Boroumandi was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Noting that Khorasan Razavi Province accounted for 320 tons of the 431 tons of saffron produced in Iran last year, he said the city of Torbat Heydariyeh is the saffron capital in the world with 100 tons of production during the period (March 2020-21).
The official noted that 80% of Iran’s saffron are exported.
A total of 324 tons of saffron worth $190 million were exported from Iran to 60 countries in the last fiscal year (March 2020-21), with five countries accounting for 79% of weight and 78% of the value of total shipments, according to the spokesperson of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
“Hong Kong with more than 74 tons worth $46.62 million was the biggest customer of Iranian saffron over the period. The country alone accounted for 23% and 24.5% of the total volume and value of the exports respectively,” Rouhollah Latifi was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Following Hong Kong were the UAE with 59 tons worth $33.94 million, Spain with 49 tons worth $26.44 million, China with 40 tons worth $22.5 million and Afghanistan with 33 tons worth $19.17 million.
Other export destinations for Iran’s red gold are France, Italy, Australia, Bahrain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Canada, Germany, India, Switzerland, Malaysia, Turkey, Iraq, Indonesia, Japan, South Africa, Austria, Poland, Norway, Kenya, Lebanon, the US, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and the Philippines.
The Iranian saffron industry has created 200,000 jobs along the pre-harvest, harvest, post-harvest, processing, sorting and packaging chain. The livelihood of these people, farmers in particular, largely depends on exports.
Iran’s area under saffron cultivation exceeds 115,000 hectares, which is 20 times bigger than the total land dedicated to growing saffron in the whole world. The country is annually increasing the area by 5,000 hectares.
Besides Khorasan Razavi, North Khorasan, South Khorasan provinces – the main hub of saffron production in Iran, saffron is also cultivated in Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari and Khuzestan.
Per capita consumption of saffron in Iran has been put at 1 gram. Annually, 80 tons of saffron are consumed domestically. However, the deputy head of Iran National Saffron Council, Gholamreza Miri, says local demand for saffron has dropped by 70% following the outbreak of Covid-19 and a decline in the number of wedding and funeral receptions, adding that saffron is no longer a priority in the food basket of Iranian households.
Saffron, the world's costliest spice by weight, is derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and coloring agent in food.
Saffron is widely used in Persian cuisine for its distinct aroma, color and taste.
