Rate of saffron exports from Khorasan in spring 2017

The reported value of Khorasan saffron exports in spring 2017 was $58,573,109 across two packaging bands. The figures came from Omid Jahankhah, then Khorasan Razavi’s customs supervisor, and covered exports cleared through the province’s customs offices during the first three months of Iranian year 1396.

This is a historical customs snapshot, not a current export rate. It is useful because it shows how strongly saffron featured in the province’s export mix and how the two reported pack-size categories moved compared with spring 2016.

The two saffron export categories

Packages weighing more than 30 grams accounted for $38,190,931 in declared export value. Jahankhah described this as the leading export commodity reported by Khorasan Razavi customs in that period. Compared with the same three months a year earlier, its exported weight was said to have risen 43% and its dollar value 48%.

Packages between 10 and 30 grams accounted for a further $20,382,178. This was described as the province’s second-largest export item. Its reported weight increased 1% year over year, while its dollar value decreased 1%.

Together, the two values equal the stated saffron total of $58,573,109. In value terms, packages over 30 grams made up roughly 65% of that total and the 10–30 gram band about 35%. These shares are calculated from the two figures in the article; they do not show the physical weight exported because the source did not preserve the tonnage for either saffron category.

What “rate of export” means here

The old title used “rate,” but the source mostly reported value and year-over-year percentage changes. An export rate could mean physical volume, value, growth, share of total exports or the pace of shipments. Those measures should not be mixed.

For this page, the evidence supports four statements:

• the reporting period was the first three months of Iranian year 1396;
• the combined declared saffron value was $58,573,109;
• the larger package band grew strongly in both weight and value; and
• the 10–30 gram band was nearly flat in weight and slightly lower in dollar value.

It does not support a current market forecast or a price per kilogram. Calculating either would require physical-weight data, current customs records and clarity about revisions and exchange-rate treatment.

The wider Khorasan Razavi export picture

Jahankhah said total goods exports cleared by Khorasan Razavi customs during the three-month period were worth approximately $432 million, compared with $399 million in the corresponding period of year 1395. That is consistent with the reported value growth of about 8%.

The surviving English translation gives 570,000 tonnes for both years while also claiming an 11% increase in weight. Both cannot be true as written. Without the original customs table, the safest approach is to preserve the reported growth statement and mark the duplicated tonnage as translation or transcription damage rather than silently choosing one number.

The article also listed about $2.859 million in passenger or luggage trade and $21.459 million through border-market trade. One or more border names were corrupted in translation, so those values should not be assigned to a specific crossing without the original record.

Why the packaging bands matter

Customs package bands can reveal how trade is recorded, but they should not automatically be read as retail jar sizes. A shipment may contain many inner packs within larger transport packaging, and customs classifications can change over time. The category tells us how the declaration was grouped, not who bought the saffron or how it appeared on a shop shelf.

The stronger growth reported for packs over 30 grams may reflect demand, customer mix, shipment structure, price or a combination of these. The figures alone cannot identify the cause. They also cannot show whether more value remained with farmers, processors, exporters or overseas distributors.

For a wider look at why local product format and buyer requirements matter, see our article on packaging saffron for customer requirements.

How to compare saffron export figures responsibly

A useful comparison begins with the same scope on both sides. Before drawing a trend line, check:

• period: calendar year, Iranian year, spring or rolling months;
• geography: national exports or goods cleared through one province’s customs;
• product code: saffron alone and the same pack-size classification;
• measure: kilograms, declared US-dollar value or percentage change;
• revision status: preliminary or final customs data; and
• price basis: declared trade value rather than a quoted retail price.

Exports cleared through Khorasan Razavi customs are not necessarily identical to saffron grown in Khorasan Razavi. Customs location, production origin, company address and border route answer different questions. A business making a sourcing or sales decision needs the exact dataset behind the number.

What the 2017 figures still tell us

The spring report shows that saffron was a major high-value export through Khorasan Razavi and that the two listed packaging bands together exceeded $58.5 million. It also records a pronounced year-over-year increase in the larger band and a nearly flat result for 10–30 gram packs.

Its limits are equally important. The data are historical, the total-goods tonnage is internally inconsistent in translation, and the saffron weights and destinations are absent. The best use of this page is therefore as a dated, carefully reconstructed record of Khorasan saffron exports in spring 2017—not as a description of today’s trade.