A total of 178 tons of saffron worth $172.75 million were exported from Iran to 59 countries in the first 10 months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2022-Jan. 20), according to the latest statistics released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
The UAE with 54 tons worth $61.73 million of imports was the biggest destination for Iranian saffron during the period.
It was followed by Spain with 35 tons worth $38 million and China with 28 tons worth $32 million, IRIB News reported.
Iran produces over 90% of all saffron produced in the world, 80% of which are exported. However, the share of Iran in the global trade of saffron is disproportionately low, as many customers of the Iranian spice buy it in bulk and reexport after packaging it to third countries.
The city of Torbat-e Heydariyeh in Khorasan Razavi Province is considered the capital of saffron in the world.
Besides Khorasan Razavi, North Khorasan, South Khorasan provinces – the main hub of saffron production in Iran – saffron is also cultivated in Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari and Khuzestan.
The Iranian saffron industry employs 200,000 people along the pre-harvest, harvest, post-harvest, processing, sorting and packaging chain. The livelihood of these people, farmers in particular, mainly depends on exports.
Iran’s area under saffron cultivation exceeds 115,000 hectares, which is 20 times higher than the total land dedicated to growing saffron in the whole world. The country is annually increasing the area by 5,000 hectares.
Ali Hosseini, the vice president of the Association of Saffron Producers and Exporters of South Khorasan said Iran is the producer of the best saffron in the world, Mehr News Agency reported.
Noting that the cultivation of saffron in Iran dates back to more than 3,000 years, he said the precious spice has applications in pharmaceutical, food, beverage and cosmetics industries.