Iran exported $190.3 million of saffron in Iranian calendar year 1399, according to customs spokesman Seyed Ruhollah Latifi. The recorded trade covered 324,589 kilograms and reached 60 countries, with five destinations accounting for most of the total.

Inspector checking Iranian saffron samples beside sealed export packages

What period the $190 million figure covers

Year 1399 in the Iranian calendar ran from March 2020 to March 2021. Latifi’s announcement, reported in May 2021, put registered saffron exports for the year at exactly $190,323,306 and 324,589 kilograms—about 324.6 metric tonnes.

The figure is a historical customs total, not a current annual forecast. It also describes recorded exports from Iran. Informal movements, later re-exports by another country and the final retail value paid by consumers are different measures.

A contemporaneous account of the Iranian customs saffron announcement confirms the year ending March 20, the nearly 325-tonne volume, the value above $190 million and the 60-country reach.

Five destinations bought 79 percent by weight

Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, China and Afghanistan together received 257,314 kilograms worth $148,681,604. That works out to 79.3 percent of the reported weight and 78.1 percent of the reported value, consistent with Latifi’s rounded shares of 79 and 78 percent.

The destination breakdown was:

  • Hong Kong: 74,578 kilograms worth $46,626,216—23 percent of export weight and 24.5 percent of value.
  • United Arab Emirates: 59,791 kilograms worth $33,942,027—18.4 percent of weight and 17.8 percent of value.
  • Spain: 49,025 kilograms worth $26,440,313—15 percent of weight and about 14 percent of value.
  • China: 40,139 kilograms worth $22,504,440—12.3 percent of weight and 11.8 percent of value.
  • Afghanistan: 33,781 kilograms worth $19,168,608—10.4 percent of weight and 10 percent of value.

The figures add correctly to the five-market totals in the customs statement. Keeping the kilograms and dollar values together is important: a country’s share by volume is not necessarily its share by value.

Hong Kong was the largest reported destination

Hong Kong led the list in both weight and value. Its 74,578 kilograms represented almost a quarter of Iran’s recorded saffron-export earnings for the year.

Separate UN Comtrade data provide useful context without replacing Latifi’s 1399 figures. The World Bank’s WITS interface records that Hong Kong imported saffron from Iran in 2019 worth about $32.1 million and weighing 77,055 kilograms. The reporting year and trade direction differ, so the two datasets should not be merged. Together they show that Hong Kong was already an important channel before the 1399 customs total.

The UAE, Spain, China and Afghanistan each played a different role

The UAE was the second-largest destination by the customs figures, followed by Spain. Both are established trading and distribution centres, but a shipment’s recorded first destination does not prove that every gram was finally consumed there. Saffron may be inspected, repacked, processed or sent onward.

China ranked fourth and Afghanistan fifth. Their inclusion alongside Hong Kong, the UAE and Spain shows that Iran’s export channels crossed both neighbouring and more distant markets. It does not identify individual buyers, grades, packaging formats or end uses.

The remaining 55 countries collectively accounted for 67,275 kilograms and $41,641,702. That smaller combined share still matters. A broader customer base can reduce dependence on a handful of routes, provided exporters can maintain quality, payment and delivery requirements in each market.

What the export value says—and what it does not

Dividing the reported value by the reported weight gives an average customs value of roughly $586 per kilogram for the year. This is a derived average across shipments, not a quoted market price and not a retail price for one grade of saffron.

Shipment values can vary with quality, style content, moisture, certification, packaging, contract timing, order size and destination. Customs value may also reflect trade terms that do not include the same freight, insurance, duties or retail margins in every transaction.

For that reason, the $190.3 million total should be used to understand the scale and distribution of the recorded trade. It cannot tell a grower what a kilogram was worth at the farm gate, or tell a shopper what a small package should have cost.

Production share and export earnings are not interchangeable

Iran’s leading position in saffron production is often expressed as a percentage of the world crop. That production share is not the same as the country’s share of global export value.

Value can be added after saffron leaves the producing country through grading, laboratory documentation, consumer packaging, formulation, branding and distribution. A destination recorded by customs can also re-export the product. Counting the same saffron at different border crossings without checking trade flow and year can produce a misleading comparison.

The 1399 announcement is strongest when read as a single national snapshot: one exporter country, one calendar year, one customs commodity, a stated weight and value, and a named set of destinations.

Why market concentration deserves attention

Nearly four-fifths of the trade going to five destinations created efficiency and risk at the same time. Established buyers and routes can make sales easier, while a regulatory, payment, freight or demand problem in one large market can affect a substantial share of the year’s exports.

Diversification is not simply adding names to a country list. A durable route requires buyers who understand the specification, reliable testing and traceability, packaging suited to the customer, compliant documentation, secure payment and transport that protects the saffron.

The five leading markets may also contain several distinct channels. Bulk ingredient sales, consumer packs and saffron intended for onward processing should be analysed separately when the data allow it.

How to use the 1399 export figures today

The exact numbers remain a useful historical benchmark: 324,589 kilograms worth $190,323,306 to 60 countries, with 257,314 kilograms and $148,681,604 going to Hong Kong, the UAE, Spain, China and Afghanistan.

They should not be relabelled as today’s exports or compared with a newer partial year as though the periods were equal. A sound update would use the same commodity code, calendar, weight unit, valuation basis and destination definition.

Read that way, the report shows more than a headline dollar amount. It reveals the scale of Iranian saffron exports at a specific moment, the heavy concentration of trade in five markets and the difference between growing the spice, moving it across a border and capturing its final value.