Ali Hosseini, a member of Iran’s National Saffron Council, says the country provides some 80 to 90 percent of the total world needs for saffron.
In an exclusive interview with ISNA news agency on Tuesday, Hosseini said that challenges caused by cold and hot weather have led to 40 to 60 percent decreases in production in three northeastern provinces which are the main hubs of saffron production in Iran.
“Our production is in trouble. When there is a problem in production, we cannot think about exporting,” he said, urging the need for training saffron growers to remove production problems.
A last year report by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) said that Iran exports saffron to 59 different world countries.
The IRICA report said that the UAE is the main exporter of Iranian saffron, followed by Spain and China, together accounting for more than two-thirds of Iranian saffron exports.