BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 13
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
About 80 percent of the value of tea leaves that purchased from tea farmers has been paid to them from the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2020) to date (July 13), Chairman of Iran Tea Organization Habib Jahansaz told Mizan news agency, Trend reports.
Jahansaz noted that the amount of money paid to tea farmers is 2.6 trillion rials (about $61.9 million), to date.
He added that 78,100 tons of tea leaves worth 3.27 trillion rials (about $77.8 million) have been purchased from tea farmers, so far.
"So far, Iran has produced more than 17,500 tons of dry tea. This is an increase of 16 percent compared to the same period last Iranian year," he said.
Jahansaz said that 130,000 tons of tea leaves are expected to be harvested in Iran in the current Iranian year. This means the production of 30,000 tons of dry tea.
The chairman emphasized that the figure provided 30 percent of Iran's tea needs and the rest would be imported.
"More than 140,000 tons of tea leaves are expected to be harvested in Iran in the next year (to start from March 21, 2021). Thus, the process of reducing Iran's tea imports will continue," he said.
Currently, the price of first-class tea leaves is 46,000 rials (about $1.09), while the cost of second-class tea leaves is 33,000 rials (about 78 cents) per 1 kg.
In Iran, some products such as rice, sugar beet, wheat and tea are purchased from farmers by a state-owned company under a guarantee and paid for in installments.