Hossein Zeinali added that the ministry is planning to provide the grounds to reach annual revenue of $700 million from the exports of the medicinal herbs by the end of the current year (March 2020).
Some 206,000 hectares are under medicinal plant cultivation in Iran, producing 675,000 tons annually, he said, adding that the area for cultivation such products will increase to 280,000 hectares by fiscal 2021-22.
Iran is home to about 8,500 species of medicinal herbs.
The official added that the move will help boost domestic income and job creation in different parts of the country.
Iran is the world’s biggest producer of saffron and accounts for more than 90% of global production. The country produces an average of 370 tons of saffron on over 108,000 hectares of land annually.
The country is also the world’s number one producer of Damask rose. According to Zeinali, Iran supplies 90% of rosewater in global markets and accounts for 8-10% of rose essence production in the world.
World caraway production is also dominated by Iran. People use caraway oil, fruit, and seeds as medicine.
- source : Mehrnews
