A total of $244.22 million worth of saffron were exported from Iran during the last Iranian year that ended on March 20, according to the Agriculture Ministry’s data for the fiscal 2022-23.
The UAE, Spain and China were the main destinations.
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. He said Iran is annually increasing the area by 5,000 hectares.
“Iran is the producer of the best saffron in the world,” Ali Hosseini, vice president of the Association of Saffron Producers and Exporters of South Khorasan, was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
Noting that saffron cultivation in Iran dates back to more than 3,000 years ago, he said the precious spice has applications in pharmaceutical, food and beverages, and cosmetics industries.
First Saffron Gene Bank
Iran’s first saffron onion gene bank was inaugurated in Torbat-e Heydariyeh in November 2022. The bank has brought together saffron bulbs from 57 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 geneticists to work on different varieties of Iranian saffron so that ultimately one special species can be registered as Iran’s with the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization,” Ehsan Mostafavi was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
The official noted 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 and Ilam, have been gathered and different tests are being conducted on them, together with the soil they were cultivated in and the water used to irrigate it,” he added.
Mostafavi said Tehran University, Mashhad’s Ferdowsi University as well as 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 Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari.
Based on the contract, 200 tons of saffron worth around $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 annual average output, according to an official with Khorasan Razavi’s 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 around 320 tons.” Gholamhossein Sareban was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
“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 a significant decline in Iran’s production and export of saffron — traditionally a major non-oil export from the country.
Hosseini had 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 as saying by ILNA, adding that 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 Iranian Parliament Research Center says Khorasan Razavi as well as the provinces of Isfahan, Hormozgan, Sistan-Baluchestan, Ardabil, Fars and Markazi are facing critical water shortages.
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 the 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.
