BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 20. Iran’s North Khorasan Province, located in the northeast of the country, saw a 20-percent increase in its saffron exports for the first 11 months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2023 through February 19, 2024), compared to the same period last year, said Mohammad Rezaei, an official from the province’s agriculture department, Trend reports.
Rezaei noted that the province exported 42 kilograms of saffron in this period, compared to 35 kilograms in the same period last year.
The official also said that the main destinations for the province’s saffron were the UAE, Canada, Italy, and India.
He added that the province’s other major agricultural exports were grapes (278 tons) and cherries (124 tons).
North Khorasan province is one of the major agricultural hubs in Iran, with 344,000 hectares of land devoted to farming. Most of this land (297,000 hectares) is used for growing crops, while the rest (47,000 hectares) is planted with fruit trees. The province is also known for its saffron production, which covers more than 4,000 hectares in eight counties. The province produces about 25–30 tons of saffron annually.
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