BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 28
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
A total of 117,000 tons of tea leaves were purchased from farmers in Iran from the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2020), Deputy Minister of Agriculture Jihad and Chairman of Central Organization for Rural Cooperatives of Iran, Mohammad Ali Tahmasebi said, Trend reports referring to the ministry's website.
According to him, 51 percent of purchased tea leaves was 1st grade and 49 percent was 2nd grade.
Tahmasebi added that 50,000 families are engaged with tea growing on 25,000 hectares of tea plantations in Gilan and Mazandaran provinces in northern Iran.
The deputy minister noted tea harvesting in Iran began on April 20 and will last until October 21.
It is forecasted that 130,000-135,000 tons of tea leaves will be purchased from farmers in the current Iranian year.
The price of first-grade tea leaves is 46,000 rials (about $1.09), and the cost of second-grade tea leaves is 33,000 rials (about 78 cents) this year.
In Iran, some products such as rice, sugar beet, wheat, and tea are purchased from farmers by the Government Trading Corporation of Iran under a guarantee and paid for in installments.