About 100 metric tons of saffron worth $201 million was exported in the first ten months of the current year (March 21-January 20), Mahmoud Bazari, an official at the Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) told ILNA on Tuesday. Bazari added that the exports show a 22.5 percent rise in volume and a 43 percent hike in value compared to the similar period last year. Iran accounts for 96 percent of worldwide saffron production, he noted. Based on official data, nearly 190 metric tons of saffron has been domestically produced since the beginning of this year, showing a slight decrease from last year’s 200 tons. More than 83 thousand hectares of land is currently under saffron cultivation.
