TEHRAN, Iran, Aug. 25
Trend:
Over 300 hectares of land will be added to the area under cultivation of saffron by the end of September, the head of the Agricultural Jihad Organization of South Khorasan Province said, Trend reports citing IRNA.
Total 17,152 hectares of land are under saffron cultivation in South Khorasan Province, of which 5,088 hectares are located in Ghaenat City with 22 tons of saffron production capacity, Gholamreza Ghowsi said, Trend reports citing IRNA.
He went on to say that a part of the saffron onion was smuggled out of the province in previous years, but now it is largely controlled.
Ghowsi said that the destination of smuggled saffron onion has usually been Afghanistan and China.
South Khorasan ranks first in the quality of saffron and second in the production of this product in the country.
“At present, 32,282 saffron farmers are active in South Khorasan Province,” said Ghowsi. “Last year, 70,155 kilograms of dried saffron were harvested from the farms of the province, which was sold at cost of $1,600 to $2,800 per kilogram, depending on the quality.”
Regarding the export of saffron, he said that the low price of saffron will demotivate saffron farmers.
Ghowsi complained about the lack of a saffron research center in South Khorasan Province.