TEHRAN- Given the importance of saffron as one of the country’s major export items, the promotion of Iranian saffron status in the global market is one of the main issues followed up by Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO).

In this regard, the organization constantly holds different meetings attended by the representatives of related organizations on this issue, as it considers the expansion of the export markets of Iranian saffron a necessity.

The latest meeting held by the TPO was the meeting of the National Saffron Export Desk on Wednesday.

According to Mahmoud Bazari, the director-general of TPO’s Export Coordination Office for agro crops and processing industry products, the mentioned meeting was aimed at investigating the ways for the promotion of saffron exports and releasing the reports on the subject by related organizations including Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA), Iran Chamber of Cooperatives (ICC), and National Saffron Council.

During the meeting, TPO Head Hamid Zadboum stressed the significance of boosting Iranian saffron exports and elevating the status of this strategic product in the global markets.

He further underlined the role of producers and exporters of saffron in this due, and released a report on the organization’s supportive measures and offered incentives since the Iranian calendar year 1381 (March 2002-March 2003) for promoting the status of Iranian saffron in the global markets and removing the barriers in the way of exports.

TPO has recently set up a special task force on the trade of saffron.

Underlining the significance of saffron in Iran’s exports, Zadboum has said that his organization has had supporting the exports of this product through offering different incentives a top agenda of its activities since the Iranian calendar year 1380 (March 2001- March 2002).

The special task force held its meeting at the place of TPO in the presence of the representatives of Agriculture Ministry, Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran (ISIRI), Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Health Ministry, Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI), Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, Iran Chamber of Cooperatives, National Saffron Council, and the Organization for Protection of Consumers and Producers (OPCP). 

About 85 percent to 90 percent of Iran’s saffron is produced in the northeastern provinces of North Khorasan and Khorasan Razavi and the eastern province of South Khorasan.

Based on the data released by Iranian Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, Iran earns some $500 million annually by exporting medicinal herbs, of which about $350 million is related to saffron and the rest is the share of other medicinal herbs.