TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran’s Plan and Budget Organization (PBO) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with three Iranian banks for supporting the saffron industry.
Based on the MoU which was signed by PBO’s Deputy Head Hamid Pour-Mohammadi and the managing directors of Bank Keshavarzi, Bank Mellat, and the Export Development Bank of Iran, about $238.09 million will be allocated for supporting the development of the saffron industry and its exports, IRNA reported.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Pour-Mohammadi noted that the mentioned funding will be provided to saffron producers and processors in the form of bank facilities to support the production of saffron and the packing and processing of this product, which has been impacted by the outbreak of the coronavirus.
According to the official, the interest rate of the mentioned facilities would be 18 percent, of which PBO has agreed to pay three percent.
According to official figures, Iran exported 12,320 kilograms of saffron valued at $11.2 million to 32 countries during the previous Iranian year (ending March 19), said the president of the University of Torbat-e Heydarieh (northeastern Iranian province of Khorasan Razavi) and its Saffron Research Institute.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Iran Daily in May, Mohammad-Hassan Fat’hi-Nasri added that of this figure, 9,500 kilograms, worth $10.3 million, were exported from the Customs Department of the northeastern city of Mashhad to 25 countries.
He noted that, in other words, during this period, saffron exports from Mashhad’s customs accounted for 77 percent and 92 percent of the country’s total overseas sales of the same product in terms of weight and value, respectively.
The UAE was Iran’s biggest export destination, having imported 4,200 kilograms (34 percent of the total weight of the overseas sales) of saffron, valued at $4.6 million (41 percent of total value), followed by Spain and Afghanistan, Fat’hi-Nasri added.
- source : Iran Daily
