Iran’s Saffron Exports Fall
IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK
TEHRAN – The head of Iran’s National Council of Saffron says the outbreak of the Coronavirus has caused a decline in Iran’s saffron export especially in the countries which are Iran’s export destinations.
Speaking to ISNA, Mohsen Ehtesham said that last year and despite all woes and restrictions, saffron exporters in the country did their best to protect their shares of saffron exports in the international market but in last months of the year, they faced serious problems.
He admitted that unfortunately the virus has had negative impact on the business and trade worldwide and saffron is an export commodity which is mostly exported by air transportation while all flights were almost cancelled.
Ehtesham who is also the chairman of Birjand Chamber of Commerce added that in March and April, there were no flights in the country or the number of flights was in the lowest level, hence, saffron exports in the country declined or even came to a halt because of lack of means of transportation.
He added that now the country also faces fall in exports in the international markets and domestic demand for this commodity has also faced serious drop. He pointed to the lockdown of city of Mashhad which is the major religious tourism destination in the country hosting some 6m people annually and saffron is the major souvenir of the city. He said for this reason the domestic demand has declined by 80 percent.
Ehtesham noted that European countries like Italy, Sweden, Germany and France as well as China and the U.S. are the major markets for export of saffron which all have faced lockdown, and in exporting saffron to Arabian countries like the UAE as well as India, exporters have faced problem.
He admitted that although Iran is the biggest producer of saffron in the world, unfortunately nobody knows it because the country has not promoted this commodity properly in the world.
He expressed hope that in June and after relaxing restrictions and lifting lockdowns in the world, flights would resume and exporting saffron may be eased.
