A total of 12.31 tons of saffron worth $13.36 million were exported from Iran to 29 countries during the first month of the current fiscal year (March 21-April 20), registering a 54% and 41% year-on-year rise in weight and value respectively.
According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, the shipments came in different packages, including under 10 grams, 10-30 grams and more than 30 grams, as well as in the form of saffron powder.
The UAE was the main export destination in terms of weight, as the country imported 3.91 tons of saffron worth $4.54 million from Iran during the period, IRIB News reported.
It was followed by China with 3.76 tons worth $4.65 million and Spain with 2.34 tons worth $2.56 million.
Australia, South Africa, Afghanistan, Germany, Britain, Italy, Bahrain, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Thailand, Taiwan, Romania, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden, Iraq, Oman, France, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Canada, Kuwait, Mauritius, New Zealand, the Netherlands and India were other export destinations.
A total of $244.22 million worth of saffron were exported from Iran during the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2023), according to the Agriculture Ministry.
Iran produces over 90% of all saffron harvested 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 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 and highest-quality 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 the cultivation of saffron in Iran dates back to more than 3,000 years, he said the precious spice has applications in pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and cosmetics industries.
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.
