TEHRAN, Iran, April 17
Trend:
Iran's saffron sale and export are effected by coronavirus spread since most export destinations are challenged by the disease, Secretary of the National Saffron Council Gholamreza Miri told Trend.
The price of saffron currently varies between 60,300 million rials (about $1,500) and 90 million rials (about $2,100) per kilogram, he said.
"The suppliers of saffron products to the domestic market closed their shops due to coronavirus, including the city of Mashhad that usually witnesses around 12,000 visitors per year near Nowruz holiday who purchase saffron, but now the domestic market is in recession, as purchase and sale reduced," the secretary added.
"Meanwhile, saffron export also is facing a recession; Iran does not carry any export operations at the moment," he said. "Considering the fact that export destination countries including Persian Gulf states, Europe and the US are currently experiencing coronavirus crisis, there are no flights to export saffron and no demand for the commodity."
"There are about 50 destinations for Iran's saffron including Persian Gulf states, the US, Latin America, European countries such as Germany, Italy, French, Austria, Belgium, and Asian countries such as Hong Kong and China," Gholamreza Miri added.
"Iran's saffron is usually exported indirectly to China, going from Iran to Hong Kong and then to Vietnam to be re-exported to China since saffron export has 38 percent charges in China," he said. "It's unprecedented to export saffron in any other way than via plane since it is a valuable commodity. Saffron is both a food item and a luxury commodity, so many countries have stopped the imports," he said.
"The price for saffron declined and most exporters purchase the product directly from farmers for trade at the stock market and not for export," he added.