Baku, Azerbaijan, April 22
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
During the 11 months of the previous Iranian year (started March 21, 2018), 336,800 tons of various medicinal herbs worth $520 million were exported from Iran to different countries, Hossein Zeynali, medical plants project manager of Iran's Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, told IRNA, Trend reports.
According to him, exports of medicinal herbs increased by $70 million, compared to the same period last year.
Zeynali added that saffron, Damask rose, asafoetida, ferula, astragalus, tragacanth, and caraway are the main products exported by Iran in this field.
"More than 250 tons of saffron worth $319 million were exported from Iran to 48 countries, including Afghanistan, Spain, the UAE, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), the Netherlands and the US," he said.
Zeynali went on to say that more than 53,000 tons of medicinal herbs worth $34 million, 8 tons of essential oils worth $5 million, 163 tons of dry Damask roses and 3 tons of rose water were exported during the mentioned period.
He added that $160 million worth of cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and caraway were also exported.
Currently, the global trade of medicinal herbs is worth more than $107 billion. According to forecasts, this figure will exceed $450 billion in 2025.
There are 209 co-operative companies operating in the Iranian agricultural sector. There are more than 102,000 employees in these companies.
According to Iran’s 10-year program based on the National Document for Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine, the sowing area of 20 kinds of medicinal herbs should reach 500,000 hectares by 2025.