Is Khorasan losing the Iranian saffron market?
The director of horticulture affairs of Khorasan Razavi Jihad-e-Agriculture Organization said: Razavi and South Khorasan are doomed to cultivate saffron due to dry climate and it is not possible for them to cultivate other crops due to water shortage.
Mohammad Reza Ghodsi, while strongly opposing the cultivation of saffron in other provinces, stated: A cultivation program has been given to other provinces and partial cultivation of saffron has been included in it, but we are against this issue. Cultivation of saffron is cost-effective for water-scarce provinces such as Khorasan Razavi and South Khorasan due to the dry climate, but when this crop is cultivated in other provinces, Khorasan Razavi will lose its market.
He said: Due to the extreme heat of July and especially the cold of November this year, we saw a decrease in yield in saffron cultivation. Extreme cold after rainfall was effective in saffron cultivation. This year, the area under saffron cultivation has decreased in the cities of Torbat-e Heydarieh, Zaveh, and Rashtkhar, which have the highest level of saffron cultivation in the province.
Ghodsi continued: The effect of cold weather in Neishabour and Sabzevar cities was less than other cities, but they were also somewhat affected by these climatic conditions.
Get Social