Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 12
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
The tea growers in Iran have fully been paid by the tea processing plants, Habib Jahansaz, Chairman of the Iran Tea Organization, told the Young Journalists Club YJC, Trend reports.
According to Jahansaz, 220,000 tons of tea worth 2.2 trillion rials (app. $52.3 million) have been purchased this year (started March 21, 2018), adding that the remaining debt to tea growers in the amount of 130 billion rials (app. $3.09 million) have been paid by tea processing plants.
"12,600 tons of tea was produced from tea leaves bought this year. There was a 4 percent increase when compared to the same period last year," he said.
Remarking that the tea consumption in Iran stands at about 105,000 tons per year, the chairman added that the remaining demand is met via imports.
"Since the beginning of this year, 43,000 tons of tea has been imported. Compared with the same period last year, imports increased by 2,000-3,000 tons," he said.
Jahansaz also said that 13,000 tons of tea was exported in the first 9 months of this year. Also, according to Iranian Customs, Iran's tea was exported to India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Canada, Australia, Spain, the Czech Republic, Azerbaijan and Georgia.