BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 20
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
About 37.6 tons of saffron were exported to 52 countries during the first three months of the current Iranian year (March 20-June 20, 2020), Spokesman for Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) Rouhollah Latifi said, Trend reports citing IRICA.
According to Latifi, the value of saffron exported exceeded $38.5 million.
The spokesman added that 12.7 tons of saffron worth $14.4 million were exported to Hong Kong, 9.19 tons - to Spain, and 3.48 tons - to the UAE.
Other major exporters of Iranian saffron were Italy, South Korea, Germany, Sweden, France and China, Latifi noted.
"The saffron is grown on 118,000 hectares of land in Iran, and Iran provides about 94 percent of the world's saffron," he said.
The official stressed that Iran produced about 500 tons of saffron in the last Iranian year (from March 21, 2019 to March 20, 2020), of which around 80 percent was exported.
"Iranian saffron is mainly exported by air. The reduction or suspension of foreign flights has had a negative impact on Iran's saffron exports," he said.
Iran exported about 7.1 million tons of agricultural and food products worth $5.82 billion in the last Iranian year (from March 21, 2019 to March 20, 2020).
The value of Iran's foreign trade amounted to $13.9 billion during the first three months of the current Iranian year.
Iran's exports amounted to 21.9 million tons worth $6.36 billion, which shows a decrease by 43.98 percent in terms of value compared to the same period last Iranian year.
During the reporting period, Iran imported 8.92 million tons of products worth $7.62 billion. Imports of products decreased by 26.86 percent in terms of value compared to the same period last Iranian year.
Foreign flights have been suspended due to the spread of the coronavirus in Iran.