The price of Iranian saffron is one-fifth of the world average

The price of Iranian saffron is one-fifth of the world average

The secretary of the National Saffron Council said: The average price of saffron in European markets is more than $ 6,000, but Iranian saffron is offered in the world market for about $ 1,200 due to bulk exports and low quality.

Farshid Manouchehri stated: The instability of saffron prices is one of the threats to this product, but the price of saffron should be stabilized in world markets so that it can be sold for 2000 to 2500 dollars per kilogram, which is a reasonable price for Iranian saffron.

90% of saffron profit in farmers’ pockets
He stated that saffron is one of the few agricultural products that more than 90% of its commercial value goes to farmers, noting: At present, the price of saffron in domestic markets has reached 4 million tomans per kilogram.

The Secretary of the National Saffron Council stated: ‌ In order to improve and stabilize the position of Iranian saffron in world markets, threats such as bulk and low quality exports, lack of price stability and lack of financial resources must be eliminated.

Manouchehri continued: Although Iran is the largest producer of saffron, but it does not have an acceptable impact on global markets, and this is one of the biggest threats to Iranian saffron.

He stressed: Bulk export of saffron without identity card causes this product to be exported to global target markets in the name of other countries, such as Spain, which is a threat to Iranian saffron in export markets.

Uncertainty of saffron quality improvement plan
The Secretary of the National Saffron Council mentioned the low quality of saffron as another threatening factor of this strategic product and stated: ‌ Despite the fact that the National Saffron Council has proposed a plan to improve the quality and registration of saffron for the past two years and has taken appropriate measures so far. It has done so to implement it, but the Ministry of Jihad for Agriculture has not supported this plan, and we are currently witnessing the failure of this plan.

Manouchehri continued: Even if problems such as bulk saffron exports are solved and we can export saffron under the Iranian brand to world markets, what quality will we offer Iranian red gold? Therefore, we must first implement the plan to improve the quality of saffron, which does not cost much, in such a way that the pollution load of this product reaches zero.

He said: The National Saffron Council is ready to implement this project in 60 saffron-rich villages of the country with a capital of about one billion tomans, but currently the lack of resources and lack of government support is an obstacle to improving the quality of saffron.