Half the price of saffron in international markets and custom errors

This 2013 report was about a saffron customs-value dispute, not a sudden 50% collapse in the price buyers paid. Iranian exporters argued that the official values assigned to saffron shipments were roughly twice the prices being achieved in international markets. In their view, that made recorded export earnings look higher than the money actually received and distorted charges linked to the declared value.

The figures below belong to that specific dispute. They are useful for understanding the gap between an administrative customs value and a commercial sale price, but they are not current saffron prices, tariffs or export rules.

What “half the price” meant

Ali Hosseini, then identified as vice-president of the South Khorasan Association of Saffron Producers and Exporters and a representative of the National Saffron Council, told the Iranian Students News Agency that exporters were selling saffron for about half the value assigned by customs.

The translated report gave a broad example of an official value around US$2,300 per kilogram while saying saffron was selling in the international market for about US$1,100 per kilogram. Hosseini’s request was to lower the customs valuation so it followed the real export price more closely.

This distinction matters. A customs value is an administrative value used for a defined customs or statistical purpose. The transaction price is what the buyer and seller actually agree to pay. They can diverge, especially when an official schedule is not updated as quickly as market prices or exchange rates.

The packaging values quoted in the 2013 report

The original English translation is difficult in places, so these numbers should be read as the speaker’s reported examples rather than a clean copy of a customs schedule. It described different values according to package size and whether the saffron was whole or powdered:

• whole saffron in packages above 30 grams: an official value of about US$2,000 per kilogram, compared with a reported market price near US$1,200;
• whole saffron in packages from 10 to 30 grams: an official value near US$3,300 per kilogram, again compared with a market price near US$1,200;
• whole saffron in packages below 10 grams: an official value around US$3,500 per kilogram, compared with a reported export price near US$1,500;
• powdered saffron in packages from 10 to 30 grams: an official value of about US$3,700 per kilogram;
• powdered saffron in packages from 5 to 10 grams: about US$3,900 per kilogram;
• powdered saffron below 5 grams: about US$4,000 per kilogram; and
• powdered saffron below 1 gram: about US$4,200 per kilogram.

The report also referred to a proposed value of roughly US$2,000 per kilogram for one ground or non-powdered category, against a sale price said to be around US$1,200. Because the wording for that category is internally inconsistent, it should not be used to classify a shipment today.

Why package size can change value per kilogram

A kilogram divided into one-gram retail packs is not commercially identical to a kilogram shipped in one bulk container. Small packages add containers, labels, filling work, quality checks and handling. They may also be prepared for a retail rather than wholesale market. That can justify a higher unit value when the actual transaction includes those services.

The objection in 2013 was not that every package should have one price. It was that the official bands were said to sit well above real transactions, even after packaging differences were considered. Powder also needed its own treatment because grinding changes the product form and can affect quality-control and authenticity requirements.

Customs value, tariff and invoice price are different

The old translation uses “tariff” and “customs value” almost interchangeably. They are not the same:

• Invoice or transaction price is the price agreed between seller and buyer, subject to the contract and its delivery terms.
• Customs value is the value accepted or calculated by customs for a stated legal purpose.
• Tariff or duty is a charge that may be calculated from the customs value, quantity or another rule.
• Trade-statistics value is the value reported in a national or international dataset under its own methodology.

The WTO Customs Valuation Agreement uses transaction value as the primary basis for valuing imported goods, with defined adjustments and conditions. That agreement concerns import valuation; it does not verify what Iran’s export schedule required in 2013 or what it requires now.

International merchandise-trade statistics introduce another layer. The United Nations IMTS guidance recommends free-on-board values for exports and cost-insurance-freight values for imports. A statistical export value therefore cannot automatically be compared with a farm-gate price, a retail shelf price or an importer’s landed cost.

The five-percent charge mentioned in the article

The 2013 report said a five-percent charge applied to saffron exported in packages above 30 grams. It argued that an overstated customs value increased the burden and weakened the reported competitiveness of Iranian saffron. The translated wording does not make clear whether every use of “tariff” refers to a duty, a valuation-related charge or another export-policy mechanism.

It also said that an export award for small packages had been available from Iranian year 1389, corresponding broadly to 2010–2011, and had been removed in the preceding year. That policy history helps explain why package size was central to the complaint. It is not evidence that the incentive or five-percent charge remains in force.

How an inflated value can distort export statistics

If a shipment is recorded at US$2,000 per kilogram but the commercial sale is US$1,200, the published foreign-exchange value can overstate what exporters earned. A charge calculated as a percentage of the higher figure can also cost more than one based on the transaction. Exchange-rate movements make the comparison harder when an official schedule is slow to adjust.

That was Hosseini’s central argument: lowering the assigned values would make statistics and value-based charges better reflect the market. The claim should be understood as an industry representative’s position in 2013, not as a finding that customs committed a legal error.

What a saffron exporter should verify today

Do not quote the values on this page in a current declaration. Before shipping, an exporter should confirm the live rules with the customs authority and a qualified broker, including:

• the current commodity code and the exact form of the product;
• the destination country’s import tariff and taxes;
• the accepted invoice currency and exchange rate;
• the valuation method and any required adjustments;
• net and gross weight, package size and number of units;
• the Incoterm and which transport or insurance costs are included;
• origin, health, laboratory and phytosanitary documents where required; and
• whether a preferential arrangement or restriction applies on the shipment date.

Our guide to choosing a saffron exporter in Iran covers the quality, traceability and documentation checks a commercial buyer should make before price comparison.

Reading the old headline accurately

“Half the price of saffron in international markets and custom errors” is awkward English, but its meaning is recoverable. The report said market sales were occurring at roughly half the assigned customs values and asked the authorities to revise those values. It did not establish a universal world saffron price, prove that all Iranian shipments sold at one rate, or announce a current customs rule.

Source and review note

This article preserves the figures and argument from the report first published here on 19 October 2013. We reviewed it on 28 August 2026. Current explanatory references are the official WTO customs-valuation text and the UN’s international merchandise-trade statistics guidance linked above. Because we could not verify the archived Iranian customs schedule behind the translated report, all package values and policy details remain clearly dated and should not be used for a live shipment.