A total of 324 tons of saffron worth $190 million were exported from Iran to 60 countries in the last fiscal year (March 2020-21), with five countries accounting for 79% of weight and 78% of the value of total shipments, says the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
“Hong Kong with more than 74 tons worth $46.62 million was the biggest customer of Iranian saffron over the period. The country alone accounted for 23% and 24.5% of the total volume and value of the exports respectively,” Rouhollah Latifi was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Hong Kong was followed by the UAE with 59 tons worth $33.94 million, Spain with 49 tons worth $26.44 million, China with 40 tons worth $22.5 million and Afghanistan with 33 tons worth $19.17 million.
Other export destinations for Iran’s red gold are France, Italy, Australia, Bahrain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Canada, Germany, India, Switzerland, Malaysia, Turkey, Iraq, Indonesia, Japan, South Africa, Austria, Poland, Norway, Kenya, Lebanon, the US, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and the Philippines.
Iran is the world’s biggest producer of saffron, the most expensive spice in the world, accounting for about 90% of global production.
The lion’s share of Iranian saffron is exported via air.
According to Deputy Agriculture Minister Ali Tahmasebi, Iran’s area under saffron cultivation exceeds 115,000 hectares, which is 20 times bigger than the total land dedicated to saffron harvest in the whole world. Noting that Iran is annually increasing the area by 5,000 hectares, Tahmasebi said saffron cultivation is no longer restricted to the three provinces of North Khorasan, South Khorasan and Khorasan Razavi.