TEHRAN- The spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced that Iran has exported tea to 12 countries during the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-June 20), IRNA reported.

Rouhollah Latifi announced that over 575 tons of tea worth $493,785 were 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.

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).

According to the official, Azerbaijan, Iraq, and Afghanistan were among the top destinations for Iranian tea exports.

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

MA/MA