A total of 178 tons of saffron worth $172.75 million were exported from Iran to 59 countries in the first 10 months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2022-Jan. 20), according to the latest statistics released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
The UAE with 54 tons worth $61.73 million of imports was the biggest destination for Iranian saffron during the period.
It was followed by Spain with 35 tons worth $38 million and China with 28 tons worth $32 million, IRIB News reported.
Iran produces over 90% of all saffron produced in the world, 80% of which are exported. However, the share of Iran in the global trade of saffron is disproportionately low, as many customers of the Iranian spice buy it in bulk and reexport after packaging it to third countries.
The city of Torbat-e Heydariyeh in Khorasan Razavi Province is considered the capital of saffron in the world.
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.
The Iranian saffron industry employs 200,000 people along the pre-harvest, harvest, post-harvest, processing, sorting and packaging chain. The livelihood of these people, farmers in particular, mainly depends on exports.
Iran’s area under saffron cultivation exceeds 115,000 hectares, which is 20 times higher than the total land dedicated to growing saffron in the whole world. The country is annually increasing the area by 5,000 hectares.
Ali Hosseini, the vice president of the Association of Saffron Producers and Exporters of South Khorasan said Iran is the producer of the best saffron in the world, Mehr News Agency reported.
Noting that the cultivation of saffron in Iran dates back to more than 3,000 years, he said the precious spice has applications in pharmaceutical, food, beverage and cosmetics industries.
First Saffron Gene Bank
Iran’s first saffron bulb gene bank was recently inaugurated in Torbat-e Heydariyeh. The bank has brought together saffron bulbs from 57 different regions of the country, the deputy head for projects and planning of Industries, Mining and Trade House of Youth of Torbat-e Heydariyeh said.
“The aim of establishing this gene bank is for experts and genetic scientists to work on different varieties of Iranian saffron so that ultimately one special species can be registered as Iran’s with the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization,” Ehsan Mostafavi was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
The official added that a field as big as three hectares has been dedicated for the purpose in the first phase, which will be expanded later.
“Samples from saffron production hubs, like provinces of Khorasan Razavi, South and North Khorasan, and other provinces in which saffron cultivation has expanded throughout the years such as Isfahan, Kerman, Kermanshah, Ilam, etc., have been gathered and different tests are being carried out on them, together with the soil they were cultivated in and the water used to irrigate them,” he said.
Mostafavi noted that Tehran University, Mashhad’s Ferdowsi University and other scientific centers are closely collaborating in the project.
World’s Biggest Saffron Contract With Qatar
The world’s biggest contract for saffron trade was signed between Iran and Qatar on Sept. 18, 2022, in the presence of Iran’s Ambassador to Doha Hamidreza Dehqani Poudeh and Qatar’s Finance Minister Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari.
Based on the signed contract, 200 tons of saffron worth $300 million will be processed and exported from Iran to the neighboring Qatar.
Experts believe this contract is one of a kind and can have positive impact on Iran’s domestic saffron market and help export processed instead of raw saffron, creating value added for the precious Iranian spice.
Drought Impact
Iran’s yearly saffron production has reached 180 tons, 50% less than the country’s average annual, according to an official with Khorasan Razavi Agricultural Organization.
“During the first month of spring, we had 60% less precipitation, which damaged most of our saffron farms. Later precipitations did not benefit the growth of saffron flowers. Under normal conditions, yields had to reach somewhere around 320 tons.” Gholamhossein Sareban was quoted by ILNA as saying.
The official noted that Torbat-e Heydariyeh, a county of Khorasan Razavi Province with a namesake capital, is Iran’s biggest producer of saffron.
“Out of 121,000 hectares of saffron farms across the country, 91,000 (around 76%) are located in the northeastern Khorasan Razavi Province.”
Drought has led to significant decline in Iran’s production and export of saffron — traditionally a major non-oil export from the country.
Ali Hosseini, member of Iran’s National Saffron Council’s board of directors earlier said that Iran risks losing its major export destinations, in which it has had a foothold for decades now.
“Iran managed to overtake Spain as the world’s biggest saffron producer 30 years ago by producing quality produce at prices lower than in global markets,” he was quoted by ILNA as saying, adding that now the neighboring countries are planning to take Iran’s place as production prices are rising.
Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture has warned that drought could cripple Iran’s agricultural sector and hamper economic growth.
And the Majlis Research Center says Khorasan Razavi, as well as the provinces of Isfahan, Hormozgan, Sistan-Baluchestan, Ardabil, Fars and Markazi are facing a critical shortage of water.
Masoud Khansari, president of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, says Iran is likely to lose 70% of its agricultural lands in the future.
"Experts have sounded an alarm about this grave danger but so far little attention has been paid to this challenge," he wrote for the Persian economic daily Donya-e-Eqtesad.
