Each kilogram of saffron is between 6 to 11 million tomans

“Each kilogram of saffron is between 6 to 11 million tomans” was a market estimate reported in Iran in August 2019, not a current price quotation. Ali Hosseini, then identified as a member of the National Saffron Council, said quality explained the width of that range. The number is still useful as a historical record, but it should never be copied into a purchase order or used to value today’s crop.

What the 6-to-11-million-toman range meant

Hosseini described a domestic market in which one kilogram could sell for roughly 6 million to 11 million tomans according to quality. His comment was a snapshot: the article did not identify a daily exchange-board quotation, a particular saffron grade, a contract month or delivery terms. Those omissions matter. Two offers made on the same day can be several steps apart in price while both are genuine.

The date matters just as much. Saffron prices move with the harvest, available stocks, export demand, exchange-rate conditions and the characteristics of the lot. A 2019 figure can explain the market discussed in the original interview; it cannot answer what a kilogram costs now. For a broader explanation of that movement, see why saffron does not have one fixed price.

Why one kilogram does not have one standard price

A kilogram is only a weight. It says nothing about which parts of the stigma are present, how the threads were separated, whether the lot is uniform, how it was dried or what the laboratory found. Price comparisons become meaningful only after those details match.

• Form and grade: long red stigmas, shorter threads and styles are different commercial products. Powder also carries different authentication and handling risks.
• Measured quality: colour, aroma, flavour, moisture and foreign matter should be assessed by an agreed method, not by a grade name alone.
• Crop and storage history: harvest date, packaging, heat, light and humidity affect the condition in which saffron reaches the buyer.
• Lot size and packing: a bulk one-kilogram lot and many small retail packs have different material, testing, labour and distribution costs.
• Commercial terms: delivery point, freight, insurance, duties, payment timing and currency can change the final landed price without changing the saffron itself.

The current ISO 3632-1:2025 saffron specification applies to dried saffron in filament, cut-filament and powder forms and includes storage and transport recommendations. A seller’s use of a familiar grade word is therefore not a substitute for the actual product form, test method and lot report.

The identification plan discussed in the interview

The other important part of Hosseini’s statement concerned a proposed saffron identification system. He argued that identification could reduce misuse while helping growers, exporters and buyers. He also said the plan did not require complicated infrastructure, that a format existed at the National Saffron Council and that a pilot had been accepted in 100 villages.

The article did not name those villages, provide the pilot report or document a national implementation decision. Those details should remain attributed to the interview rather than presented as a completed nationwide system. Our separate account of the saffron certificate recognition plan explains the proposal and its limitations.

What useful lot identification should do

A practical record connects a physical lot to information that can be checked. It should identify the producer or supplier, harvest or intake period, product form, weight, test result, packing event and every transfer between those stages. If a bulk lot is divided, the smaller packs need a link back to it. If lots are blended, the record needs to show which inputs entered the blend.

Identification is not proof by itself. A code printed on a box has value only when it leads to consistent records and the product matches them. Testing, controlled access to labels and traceable corrections are what make the code useful.

Exchange-rate rules and the risk of informal trade

Hosseini linked saffron smuggling at the time to exchange-rate volatility and exporters’ difficulty meeting foreign-currency return obligations through Iran’s NIMA system. He suggested that when formal export procedures become harder, some trade moves outside documented channels. That was his assessment of the 2019 policy environment, not evidence that every exporter faced the same problem or that informal trade had one cause.

The underlying concern is reasonable: a trade route that bypasses records weakens confidence in origin, weight, payment and quality. The remedy is not merely a higher selling price. It is a formal route that a responsible business can actually use, with clear documentation and a traceable lot on both sides of the transaction.

How the domestic quotation relates to export value

Official trade data describes a different point in the chain. The WITS presentation of UN Comtrade data records Iranian saffron exports in 2019 at about $297.2 million and 282,996 kg. That customs value covers many shipments to different destinations. It is not a domestic farm-gate quote, a universal wholesale price or a retail shelf price.

Dividing total customs value by reported weight can produce an average unit value, but that average mixes grades, dates, buyers and delivery arrangements. It should not be used to declare what a particular kilogram was worth. The 6-to-11-million-toman range and the customs totals describe related markets from different angles; neither replaces a dated, lot-specific offer.

What to request with a saffron price today

A useful quotation should let the buyer understand exactly what is being priced. Before comparing two offers, ask for:

• the quotation date and the period for which it remains valid;
• the currency and payment terms;
• the product form, commercial grade and crop or packing date;
• a lot-specific test report and the method used;
• net weight, pack format and number of packs;
• declared origin and records that support it;
• delivery terms, freight, insurance and any taxes or duties included; and
• a sample from the same lot when the order is commercially significant.

This turns “price per kilogram” into a comparison between like products. It also makes later checks possible if the delivered saffron differs from the sample or specification.

Reading the old price correctly

The original 6-to-11-million-toman figure belongs to August 2019. It recorded a wide quality-dependent domestic range and accompanied a call for better identification, easier formal trade and more deliberate market management. It should be preserved for that historical meaning, not refreshed silently or presented as today’s rate.

For a current purchase, start again with the date, lot, specification and commercial terms. A precise old number without those details is less useful than a transparent new quotation that can be verified.