Saffron exports $ 60 million to 44 countries

Saffron exports $ 60 million to 44 countries is a 2015 customs snapshot, not a current annual total. The underlying ISNA report said Iran exported 42 tonnes and 22 kilograms of saffron and saffron powder during the first four months of that reporting year. The declared value was $60,800,059, and the goods were recorded against 44 unique destination names.

Compared with the same four-month period a year earlier, weight was reported up 19.04 percent and value up 19.32 percent. Those two growth rates moved almost together. That is more informative than the rounded “19 percent” headline: the increase came mainly from a larger declared quantity, not from an extraordinary jump in the average value per kilogram.

The 2015 saffron export figures at a glance

The report was published in September 2015 and attributed its customs figures to ISNA. Its central numbers were:

• 42,022 kilograms of saffron threads and saffron powder;
• a declared export value of $60,800,059;
• 44 unique destination names;
• 19.04 percent year-on-year growth by weight; and
• 19.32 percent year-on-year growth by value.

Dividing the total declared value by the total weight gives an implied average of about $1,447 per kilogram. That is an accounting ratio across different forms, pack sizes, qualities and destinations. It is not a wholesale offer, a farm-gate price or a retail price for one kilogram of a particular grade.

The period also matters. “First four months” refers to the source’s Iranian reporting year, and the comparison is with the corresponding period in the previous year. It should not be mixed with a January-to-April dataset unless the dates are first aligned.

Where the saffron was recorded as going

The old translation runs the destination names together and repeats Canada. After removing that duplicate, it contains 44 unique names. They are reproduced here because they are part of the historical record, not because every route remains active today:

• Asia and the Middle East: China, Japan, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Taiwan, Turkey, Singapore, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the Philippines, Qatar, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal, Hong Kong, India and Vietnam.
• Europe: Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, France, Estonia, Scotland, England, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Poland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Greece.
• The Americas: Argentina, Canada and Brazil.
• Africa and Oceania: South Africa, Australia and Mauritius.

These are customs destination names, not proof of final consumption. A shipment recorded to the United Arab Emirates, Spain or another trading centre may be packaged, stored or re-exported. England and Scotland were listed separately in the source, and Hong Kong was treated as its own destination entry. A modern country count may group territories differently.

The list nevertheless shows that Iranian saffron was moving through a broad network in 2015. It includes nearby wholesale markets, European packing centres and smaller long-distance destinations. The number of destinations says something about reach, but nothing by itself about how evenly the $60.8 million was distributed among them.

What the package-size data reveals

The article did more than quote a total. It divided most exports into customs packaging bands. Correcting the damaged English gives the following picture:

• 29,871 kilograms of saffron in packs from 10 to 30 grams, worth more than $43 million;
• 8,018 kilograms of saffron in packs over 30 grams, worth more than $11 million;
• 2,804 kilograms of saffron in packs under 10 grams, worth more than $4.385 million;
• 81 kilograms of saffron powder in packs under 10 grams; and
• 448 kilograms of saffron powder in packs from 10 to 30 grams, with the two powder bands together worth more than $1.6 million.

The 10-to-30-gram band dominated the reported weight and value. That does not necessarily mean consumers bought thirty-gram jars from shops. Customs package bands describe how goods were declared at export and may include units intended for food businesses, distributors or later repacking.

There is also a visible reconciliation gap. The listed package weights add to 41,222 kilograms, which is 800 kilograms below the 42,022-kilogram headline total. The stated category values are all minimums—“more than” $43 million, for example—and add to at least $59.985 million, leaving about $815,059 between those floors and the exact headline value. The source may have omitted a small packaging category or rounded the category values. The missing detail should be acknowledged rather than invented.

Why weight and value rose by nearly the same rate

A 19.04 percent increase in weight alongside a 19.32 percent increase in value suggests that the blended declared value per kilogram changed only slightly. It does not prove that every buyer paid the same price. A shift between thread and powder, pack sizes, grades or destinations can change the average even when individual contract prices move in different directions.

To read export growth properly, keep four measures separate:

• weight, which shows the declared physical quantity;
• value, which shows the customs value in the reporting currency;
• unit value, calculated from value divided by weight; and
• market return, which depends on costs, payment, losses and the share retained by the exporter.

An increase in customs value is not the same as an increase in farmer income or exporter profit. Freight, finance, packaging, testing and intermediary costs do not disappear from the business simply because the headline is larger.

The 200-tonne forecast was conditional

Ali Hosseini, identified as a member of the National Saffron Council, told ISNA that stable policy could allow annual exports to approach 200 tonnes. His forecast was tied to a reported production estimate of about 300 tonnes for that year. He also said Iranian saffron exports in preceding years had not exceeded 150 tonnes and suggested monthly exports might rise above 16 tonnes if trade planning improved.

Those statements are forecasts from 2015, not completed customs results. The report does not show whether the 200-tonne target was reached by year-end. It also does not provide the exact historical series behind the “not exceeded 150 tonnes” claim.

Hosseini’s immediate concern was policy volatility. Export duties had reportedly been imposed and later removed, disrupting exporters’ plans. A duty can affect contract pricing, shipment timing and working capital even if it is subsequently withdrawn. The lasting point is not that one 2015 rule should be revived; it is that contracts are harder to manage when trade costs change after buyers and sellers have planned a season.

Was Iran the biggest exporter of saffron?

This page has appeared for searches such as “biggest exporter of saffron,” “saffron exporter” and “saffron exporting countries.” The 2015 figures show Iran as a major producer and direct exporter, but that is not enough to rank every country for every later year.

Production, origin and customs export are different measures. A country can grow saffron, export its own crop, import saffron for packing, or re-export product originally grown elsewhere. Reporter coverage also varies. The World Bank’s WITS presentation of UN Comtrade data lists Spain at $56.2 million among reported 2024 saffron exporters, but a ranking that lacks a complete Iranian reporter record cannot establish the world’s producing-origin leader. The 2024 WITS table for HS 091020 should be read with those limitations.

Our separate analysis of Iran as a large saffron exporter explains the difference between production share, direct exports and re-exports. This article has a narrower job: preserving and interpreting the four-month 2015 customs record.

How to compare this report with newer trade data

A fair comparison starts with the same commodity and period. Saffron is commonly reported under HS 091020, but database editions, reporter coverage and revisions still need checking. Then match the flow, reporter, partner, currency, net weight and date range. “Exports to 44 countries” cannot be compared with “imports reported by 44 partners” without explaining the different perspective.

Gross export data can also include re-exports. A destination may record a different value because import statistics include freight and insurance or use a different valuation basis. Timing differences arise when a shipment leaves one country near the end of a month and enters the partner’s records in the next.

For a reproducible update, record:

• the exact database and access date;
• HS code and nomenclature edition;
• reporter, partner and trade flow;
• start and end dates;
• value, quantity and quantity unit;
• whether powder is included under the same code; and
• missing, estimated or mirror-reported observations.

Our Iran saffron export statistics guide gives more detail on separating dated customs claims from current evidence.

What the $60 million headline means

The defensible reading is precise. In the first four months of the 2015 reporting year, the source recorded 42,022 kilograms of saffron and saffron powder worth $60,800,059 across 44 unique destination names. Weight rose 19.04 percent and value 19.32 percent against the matching earlier period. The 10-to-30-gram customs band accounted for most of the listed trade.

The headline does not describe current exports, a selling price or a final annual result. Nor does it prove which country is the largest exporter today. Its value lies in the detail beneath it: a dated measure of reach, product form, package bands and the policy uncertainty exporters were managing at the time.