TEHRAN (Iran News) – A member of the board of directors of Iran’s National Saffron Council says according to the statistics released by Iran’s Customs Administration, Iran’s exports declined around 63% last month comparing to the same period last year and all should work to diagnose the reason and to find solution for it.
Speaking to ILNA, Ali Hosseini said that currently 90% of the total saffron in the world is produced in Iran but the country is unable to sell its saffron based on own price. He then pointed to the lack of infrastructure in production, distribution and trade of saffron in the country, noting that everybody expects any domestic product to surge in exports but it is better to take infrastructural measures than accusing others or ordering others because we need infrastructural measures to protect the position of the domestic saffron in the international market.
Hosseini blamed drought for the decline in production this year, adding that this year saffron production has slumped by 70% comparing to the same period last year.
He said for 30 years Iran has been the top saffron producers in the world but it has not taken any practical action in saffron processing industries.
He added that in the first 9 months this year, Iran’s saffron exports have declined by 60% comparing to the same period last year and all should work to find the reason and to improve it.
Hosseini went on to say that due to multiple rise in the price of saffron, foreign purchasers do not have any appetite to buy saffron, adding that Iranians want to sell their saffron based on their own price while foreigners want to buy it based on the logical price for offering it in the international market.
He admitted that Iran’s neighboring countries are trying to overtake Iran’s position in the international saffron market. He said 30 years ago Spain was the world number one saffron producer but Iranians could take over the place of Spain though producing high quality saffron with lower prices but the history may repeat and Spain tops the world ranking if Iran does not offer good quality saffron with logical price.
