TEHRAN (Iran News) Jahansaz reported that 52,000 tea farmers are currently active, supported by 180 tea processing factories in the provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran. Of these, 150 factories have already signed contracts to begin purchasing green tea leaves. He noted that 30,000 tons of dried tea have been produced this year, with 145,000 tons harvested.

Jahansaz highlighted the challenges posed by climatic and soil limitations in eastern and western Gilan, stating, “Not all regions have equal potential for tea cultivation. We face constraints due to weather, soil quality, and land suitability, as much of the terrain in Gilan is either poorly suited or entirely unfit for tea farming.”

He reiterated that Iran exported 11,000 tons of tea worth $15 million in the same period, targeting neighboring countries and European markets, with Russia and India as the primary recipients. “Iranian tea holds a unique global position due to its quality, as it is produced without agricultural pesticides,” Jahansaz emphasized. He added that successful tea exports depend on maintaining high quality, competitive pricing, and the tea’s ability to generate foreign currency, given its chemical-free production and potential to compete in international markets.

Despite domestic production, Jahansaz acknowledged the need for imports, stating, “We produce high-quality dried tea suitable for consumption, but we still import 65,000 tons of tea annually.” He explained that green tea leaf harvesting occurs in three seasons—spring, summer, and autumn—each year.

Regarding pricing, Jahansaz said the guaranteed purchase price of green tea leaves is adjusted based on inflation, rising production costs, and market demands. “We aim to increase the guaranteed price while maintaining government support to ensure timely payments to tea farmers,” he noted.

He credited timely payments to farmers, financial support from the Tea Industry Development Fund, and the Tea Organization’s structured programs—such as improving farming practices, upgrading facilities, and reviving abandoned tea gardens—for the increase in production in recent years.

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Speaking to ILNA, Mohammad Sadeq Hasani said that last year a delegation from Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization visited Sri Lanka and the outcome of the visit was an MoU that Sri Lanka accepted to pay its oil debts to Iran through bartering 4 to 8 products and tea was one of them and raw material for producing tire was another product.

Reacting to recent report that Sri Lanka will give tea to Iran in exchange for its oil debts, Hasani said that tea is not the only product of Sri Lanka which will be sent to Iran for its oil and 8 products have been agreed to be sent to Iran, adding that this mechanism of imports will be in favor of producers because the product are imported with suitable price.

He went on to say that domestic tea product does not meet the demands of the domestic market and therefor import is inevitable and last year 110,000 tons of tea was imported which was unprecedented in the history of the country. He noted that 67% of the required tea was imported from India, 16% from Sri Lanka, 7% from the UAE and 3% from Turkey and India.

Hasani reiterated that importers should pass many hurdles in the sanctions era to success in importing their products but bartering tea from Sri Lanka creates the possibility of direct export to Iran and there is no need to give the official rate forex to importers to import tea.

He added the country needs a new formula for balancing the real tea consumption in the country, adding that two years ago 75,000 tons of tea was imported and last year the figure rose to 110,000 tons and added that it seems getting the Nima-rate forex has boosted incentive for imports.

Hasani reiterated that the quality of Sri Lankan tea should be confirmed by Iranian supervisory authorities, adding that barter of tea from Sri Lanka is nothing new to surprise people.

He further said that the price of Indian and Sri Lankan tea is lower than what is registered in the custom office and importers register it with prices higher than their purchase. On exports of Iranian tea, he said that Iran Custom Administration statistics dhow the figure is 10700 tons but it is strange and it seems this amount of tea has not exited the country, admitting mafia group in this industry since the Pahlavi Regime exists and continues its activities.

He admitted that people have lost their purchasing power and it can be seen in the amount of tea sales that tea factories announce.

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As reported, Iran exported about 23,000 tons of tea worth $29.5 million to 23 countries including Uzbekistan, Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Canada, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Pakistan, and even India in the eight-month period.

The country also imported 46,000 tons of tea valued at $355 million from countries like Kenya, India, China, Vietnam, Turkey, and the Netherlands in the first eight months of this year.

Iran’s tea import increased 42.9 percent in the eight-month period of this year, as compared to the same time span in the previous year.

As previously announced by the former spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), Iran exported over 27,272 tons of tea leaves valued at $28 million in the previous Iranian calendar year 1400 (ended on March 20), registering a 77 percent rise in value and a 68 percent increase in weight.

According to Ruhollah Latifi, Iranian tea was exported to 25 countries in the previous year.

The United Arab Emirates was the top importer of Iranian tea in the mentioned year, buying 8,304 tons of tea worth over $8.774 million.

Turkey with 2,904 tons worth $3.537 million of imports, Russia with 2,598 tons worth over $3.092 million, India with 2,538 tons worth $2.371 million, and Iraq with the purchase of 2,195 tons worth $1.998 million worth of tea, were the next four export destinations for the said commodity.

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kenya, Kazakhstan, and Afghanistan occupied the sixth to 11th places among Iran’s top tea export destinations, followed by Germany, Ukraine, Lebanon, Georgia, United Kingdom, China, the Netherlands, Kuwait, Finland, Switzerland, Canada, Belgium, Azerbaijan, and Australia, according to Latifi.

Iran also imported some 75,379 tons of tea worth $386,160,767 from 10 countries in 1400, among which India was the top supplier of tea for Iran exporting 34,285 tons of the product valued at $168 million.

Sri Lanka was the second biggest exporter of tea to Iran, selling 18,326 tons of the product worth $107 million, followed by the UAE with 14,368 tons worth $71.572 million, Turkey with 4,593 tons worth $23.700 million, and Kenya with 1,471 tons worth $5.8 million.

Iraq, Vietnam, Germany, China, and Afghanistan also started selling tea to Iran in the previous year, the official said.

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Speaking to ILNA, Sadeq Hassani said that in the past years and with fewer number of factories, Iran used to produce some 70,000 tons of tea per year while today with the rise in the number of the factories the tea production does not even reach 30,000 tons per year and currently 50 percent of tea plant farms have been ruined or turned into villas.

He reiterated that drought has not affected the tea production and said Iranian tea farmers almost provide 30 percent of the national tea consumption and considerable amount of the Iranian tea is exported, and if the country stops exporting, it will face problem to meet the domestic needs.

Hassani added that he does not agree exporting tea and stipulated that the country has exported some 10,000 tons of tea for 97 cents per kilo while it has imported 33,437 tons of tear from 24 kilos for $5 per kilo. He noted here a question is raised what the advantage of this export is for the country.

He said if each kilo of Iranian tea is consumed in the country, it will help the national economy and will save $4 per kilo in the current condition. He went on to say that even the tea-rich countries import Iranian tea, adding that Iranian tea has conquered the markets of India, Kenya, Turkey and China. He said Russia, Iraq, Pakistan, Germany, Lebanon, Qatar, the Netherlands, Georgia, Turkmenistan, the UAE and Ukraine are the other tea importers from Iran.

Hassani stated Iran imported some 5,125 tons of tea from India in the first five months of the current year and the country has also imported tea from Sri Lanka, the UAE, Turkey, China, Kenya, Vietnam and Germany, reiterating that Iran is currently importing tea from Germany while there is not even a tea farm in that country.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – The spokesman of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) says that Iran has exported tea to 12 countries during the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-June 20).

Rouhollah Latifi announced that over 575 tons of tea worth $493,785 was exported during the three-month period.

The official has stated that 75 percent of the payment to the tea farmers will be made by the tea factories and the other 25 percent is paid by the government.

Latifi said Iraq has been the main destination for Iran’s tea exports in the first quarter by purchasing 183 tons of tea worth $237,500. He added that Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Germany, India, Tajikistan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Turkey were the other major destinations for Iran’s tea, respectively.

On the amount of imported tea, he said the country has imported tea from 14 countries and India by selling 8,000 tons of tea worth $38m topped the list of exporters to Iran.

Larifi added that Sri Lanka by selling tea worth over $13m and the UAE with selling tea worth over $11m ranked second and third among tea exporting countries to Iran.

He further said the statistics of the customs administration show that the volume of Iran’s imported tea was between 60 million to 70 million tons last year. He then pointed to the significance of Iran’s position in the tea trade, adding that tea is a commodity for all walks of the society and it is the most widely consumed drinking in the world after water and is one of the most money-making agro products. Latifi noted that if one takes a look at international trade statistics, he can notice that four countries account for 45 percent of tea production and 60 percent of tea exports.

He added that India, China, Kenya and Sri Lanka are the major tea exporting countries and most of tea products in China and India have domestic consumption and Kenya and Sri Lanka export the most amount of tea in the world.

Meanwhile earlier Head of Iran’s Tea Organization (ITO) Habib Jahansaz has said that tea production in the country is expected to rise 10 percent in the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 20, 2021).

Tea harvest season starts in farmlands across the northern provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran in early May.

More than 55,000 families grow tea over 28,000 hectares of farmland in the two provinces, accounting for 90 percent of the country’s total tea production.

In late December 2019, Jahansaz said Iran exported over 4,000 tons of tea to the neighboring countries, in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19).

Iran exports tea to India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Canada, Australia, Spain, the Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Executive Manager of Iran’s Tea Factories Syndicate says decrease in export of domestic tea production is good news because most of domestic produced tea is used in the country, adding that exports of tea has no value added for the country.

Speaking to ILNA, Mohammad Sadeq Hassani said that Iran’s exports fell by one-fourth, adding that Iran’s Customs Administration statistics show that the total amount of Iran’s tea exports in ten months of this year has been around 4,000 tons while the figure stood at around 16,000 tons last year.

He added regarding recent developments and outbreak of coronavirus and halt in exports, adding  it does not seem that Iran’s exports figure would change by the yearend.

Hassani noted that this year around 28,700 tons of tea has been produced in the country while the figure was 25,000 tons last year.

He pointed to growth of people’s tendency to domestic tea, adding that fall in exports does not mean that producers would suffer losses or would be unable to sell it, because their product has enjoyed with growth in domestic consumption.

Hassani noted that domestic produced tea has accounted for 25 percent of domestic tea consumption this year.

He reiterated that exported tea has no suitable vale added for the country, adding that every one kilo of good quality domestic produced tea is exported for one dollar while every one kilo of imported tea costs 5 dollars. He said this form of trade is not profitable and it is a loss.

Hassani went on to say that unfortunately despite fall in exports of tea, the domestic tea market witnesses large amount of imports.

He further refuted some statistics about the amount of tea consumed in the country, reiterating that the amount of tea consumption in the country is between 80,000 to 85,000 tons annually.

Hassani said that some 75,000 tons of tea has been imported so far this year and it seems it is more than the domestic need because of supply of domestic produced tea in the market.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran is set to overtake Russia this year as India’s largest tea importer, despite American sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

The post India’s largest tea client; Iran appeared first on Iran News Daily.

 Iran has exported some 12,571 tons of tea worth $18 million since the beginning of the current fiscal year (started on March 21), a senior official said.

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Tea production is a major industry in the Caspian Sea area and a large part of its economy. Before 1900, there was no tea production in Iran, but in 1895, an Iranian diplomat named Kashef Al Saltaneh decided to change that.

At the time the English had a strict monopoly of tea production in India, with rigid rules against non-Europeans engaging in this trade. Kashef Al Saltaneh, who had studied in Paris as a young man and was fluent in French, went to India, posed as a French businessman, learned the trade and smuggled some tea saplings and seeds to Iran.

After six years of experimentation, he introduced his first product to the market, and started the industry that revolutionized the economy of two northern states, Gilan and Mazandaran, and made Iranians avid tea drinkers.

He is known today as the father of Iranian Tea, and his mausoleum, in the city of Lahijan, houses the tea museum.

Further reading reveals that Kashef Al Saltaneh’s other honorable titles include Prince Mohammad Mirza, Iranian ambassador to India, and first mayor of Tehran.  Moreover, the stash that commenced the tea plantation might have actually been 3,000 saplings!

Tea houses, or chaikhanehs, have been in existence since the Persian Empire. They gained prominence after the 15th century, when coffee was abandoned in favor of tea leaves that were easier to come by through China’s Silk Road.

Though once the purview of men, chaikhanehs have increasingly become frequented by all members of society, and especially by Iran’s large youth population.

Iranian tea comes in a variety of subtle flavors, but its defining characteristic is its deep reddish-brown color, which tea-drinkers can choose to dilute with water depending on their preference. Despite its cultivation in the country’s Northern provinces, other teas from Sri Lanka and India are also widely consumed as the country imports a majority of its tea in order to meet the large demand.

Most chaikhanehs will serve tea on the stronger side unless otherwise indicated by the drinker. The stronger the tea, the higher the concentration of tannin and caffeine, so a good cup of tea is like a good cup of coffee for those who take it straight. Because of its bitterness, many prefer to have sugar with their tea. The traditional way to do this is to take a sugar cube and place it between your teeth. You then sip the tea and allow the sugar to melt. Iranians, especially in colder regions of the country, find this a convenient way to drink multiple cups. Crystal, or rock sugar, can be found throughout the country and bought in spice shops for this specific purpose.

The taking of tea is a ritual unto itself: most meetings or formal occasions will begin with the offering of tea, and most meals will end with it. Some chaikhanehs have takhts, or low-rise platforms covered in rugs and pillows that you may recline on. Remove your shoes before doing so; most meals are served on a tablecloth laid at your feet.

Traditionally, tea is served from a samovar, a heating vessel originally imported into Persia from Russia. Literally meaning “self-boiler”, the samovar is used to keep water hot for prolonged periods of time through a fuel-filled pipe in the middle of the structure that heats the contents surrounding it. Made from copper, brass, silver or gold, the samovar is still used throughout Russia, central Asia and Iran, and ornate versions from the -Qajar dynasty may still be found in use.

Chaikhanehs come in all shapes and forms, from the simple kitchen-turned-tea room in villages to ornate venues in urban centres, and from underground venues to popular tourist destinations.

The Azari Tea House in Tehran is one of the most famous chaikhanehs known to tourists and locals, with its detailed architecture and traditional decoration. In existence since the 14th century, this chaikhaneh on Vali Asr Street contains one of the more interesting embellishments to emerge from tea house culture: teahouse painting.

A continuation of the royal paintings from the Qajar era, tea house paintings illustrate religious and mythical themes, with Hakim Abu’l Qasim Firdowsi’s poetic epic, Shahnameh, often the focus of many such illustrations.

Any Persian will tell you that they love to drink Chai, pronounced Cha-ee. Tea, in general, is what Persians drink in the morning, after each meal, and not to mention throughout the day. Additionally, the first drink that one if offered when visiting someone else’s home is usually tea.

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