A total of 135,000 tons of green tea leaves are estimated to be harvested in the current Iranian year (started March 21), 4,000 tons more than last year’s output, according to the head of Iran Tea Organization.
“There are currently 28,000 hectares of tea plantations in Iran, 22,000 hectares of which bear yields,” Habibollah Jahansaz was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
The official noted that there has been a decline in average precipitation levels across the country, yet Gilan and Mazandaran, Iran’s northern tea cultivation hubs, have reported sufficient rainfall to favor rain-fed tea plantations.
Iran's Tea Association puts domestic demand for tea at 120,000 tons per year. Iran consumes about 5% of the total annual world tea production.
The crop undergoes three harvests a year: the spring harvest starts in late April, the second in summer begins early June and the last one in autumn starts late September.
The government has set guaranteed prices for tea purchases at 66,900 rials ($0.3) for top-quality tea leaves and 47,810 rials ($0.2) for other varieties of leaves for this year’s harvest, both showing a 45% increase compared with last year’s prices.
“Harvest began on April 21 and purchases on the 24th. Farmers are pleased with the prices announced by the government this year just as they were last year. Some 160 tea factories are ready to purchase farmers’ yields. These factories can make purchases at higher prices based on quality,” Jahansaz said.
More than 55,000 farmers, he added, earn their living through tea cultivation in Iran’s northern provinces.
Tea is considered a strategic product in Gilan and Mazandaran, as it has a significant impact on the rural and agricultural economy of the region.
Iran mainly imports tea from India and Sir Lanka. Turkey, Germany, China, Japan, Vietnam, Kenya and Poland are other exporters of the product to the country.
Iran also exports tea and its main destinations are India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Canada, Australia, Spain, the Czech Republic and Georgia.