TEHRAN — Iran will hold saffron seminar in Tokyo, Japan, on October 5-6, Ali Shariati-Moqaddam, the head of the Board of Directors at Saffron Export Promotion Fund of Iran said on Friday.

The seminar is aimed at introducing Iran’s saffron and its medicinal features as well as saffron-based byproducts to the Japanese, he said.

Shariati-Moqaddam explained that the seminar will be held in Japan because it can market the product in Japan easier than other countries, and that Japanese are interested in herbals. In addition, Japanese food organizations pay attention to the people’s interest, therefore, cooperation with these organizations would be facilitated, he noted.

The Saffron Export Promotion Fund of Iran has been established by the private sector to introduce the country’s saffron, to boost its supply and consumption, and to help expand its markets, said the official.

One of the major activities of the fund is to integrate marketing of the product and promote its export, he noted. In this line, the fund started to recognize target markets, and achieved to select ten including Japan, he added.

Shariati-Moqaddam also said that according to a four-year plan to promote saffron export, the export of the product would witness a 5-6-fold growth in value. Japan is one of the target markets for which a 300% 100% growth have been predicted in volume and value-added respectively for the next four years, he stated.