Iran imports $600 million worth of tea annually; however the value of exports amounts to $20 million per year, the head of north of Iran’s tea farmers’ union said on Saturday, as reported by ISNA. Mohammad-Vali Rouzbehan also noted that 50,000 households in Iran’s northern provinces have chosen tea farming as their occupation, saying the value of the country’s annual tea production stands just below $43 million. He added that the government has provided certain incentives with regards to the tea industry referring to government loans for tea farmers and the creation of Tea Development Fund.
