TEHRAN- Production of saffron in Iran since the beginning of current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2018) stands at 400 tons which is 15 percent more than the figure of the previous year’s same period, according to the vice chairman of National Saffron Council.

Gholamreza Miri also said that saffron export has risen 46 percent during the first eight months of the current calendar year (March 21-November 21, 2018) compared to the same time span of the previous year, Mehr news agency reported on Monday.

Iran’s exports of saffron increased about 55 percent in the past Iranian calendar year compared to its preceding year, breaking the record of exports in the past ten years.

According to Kaveh Zargaran, the chairman of the Agricultural Committee at the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA), some 236 tons of saffron worth over $326 million were exported to the destination markets in the mentioned period.

UAE, Hong Kong, Spain, Afghanistan and China were the top importers of Iranian saffron while the top three namely UAE, Hong Kong and Spain accounted for over 77 percent of the total exports, Zargaran said.

Iran’s annual saffron production stood at 326 tons during the previous year.

MA/MA