BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 9
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
About 60 tons of saffron will be put up for auction in the Razavi Khorasan Province (northeastern Iran) over the next few days, Iranian MP Mohsen Zanganeh said at a press conference in Razavi Khorasan Province, Trend reports citing IRNA.
Zanganeh noted that this amount of saffron was purchased from farmers by the Rural Cooperative Organization of Khorasan Razavi.
He added that this auction will be organized for the export of saffron. A bank guarantee worth 200 billion rials (about $4.76 million) is required to participate in the auction.
According to the MP, if this amount of saffron is sold, about 1 trillion riyals (about $23.8 million) will be paid to saffron farmers.
The MP stressed that in addition, contracts have been signed with several saffron exporters. So, these exporters will purchase saffron worth about 10 trillion rials (about $238 million) directly from farmers.
Iran annually produces 200 tons of saffron from 84,000 hectares. About 78 percent of this product belongs to Razavi Khorasan Province.