BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 8
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
Iran's saffron exports increased by 20 percent in terms of value during the first eight months of the current Iranian year (from March 20 through November 20, 2020), compared to the same period last Iranian year, Deputy Director of the Iran’s National Saffron Council Gholamreza Miri told Trend.
According to him, if this process continues, Iran's saffron exports may increase by 35-40 percent compared to the last Iranian year (from March 21, 2019 to March 20, 2020).
The deputy director added that the price for 1 kg of saffron exported by Iran is about $500-$550.
Miri noted that the main reason for the increase in Iran's saffron exports is the increase in demand for this spice in the world recently. Thus, it is used in the treatment of a number of diseases in some countries.
“Iran’s saffron was mainly exported to Spain, the UAE, Hong Kong, China and Vietnam,” he said.
The deputy director stressed that Iran’s saffron is processed for the production of other products in European countries. While in China, the saffron is used without processing.
According to the last statistics of Iranian Customs Administration (IRICA), Iran exported 37.6 tons of saffron worth $38.5 million in the first three months of the current Iranian year (from March 20 through June 20, 2020).
Iran exported 12.7 tons of saffron to Hong Kong, 9.19 tons to Spain and 3.48 tons to the UAE.
Iran produced about 500 tons of saffron in the last Iranian year. On average, 80 percent of it was exported.