Buyer comparing saffron grades for a historical wholesale price range

The headline “Saffron prices between 1400 to $ 2200” records a historical wholesale-export range, not today’s retail price. The original report was published in June 2016 and described a market in which domestic saffron was quoted at roughly 5.4 million to 6.8 million tomans per kilogram, depending on type. Currency, grade, quantity, packaging and contract terms all matter, so these figures should be read in their period.

The price range reported in 2016

Gholamreza Miri, identified in the original interview as vice-president of Iran’s National Saffron Council, said domestic saffron prices had been stable for about a month. He placed the local wholesale range between 5.4 million and 6.8 million tomans per kilogram. The lower and upper figures were not prices for an identical product: his wording made clear that the type of saffron affected the quote.

The article’s US$1,400–US$2,200 headline referred to the export-market context. It did not preserve a dated exchange rate, named grade, Incoterm, shipment size or packing format that would allow a reliable conversion from the domestic range. The dollar band is therefore best treated as the reported historical range rather than a formula for reconstructing a contract price.

Trade data helps test the scale, not every quotation

International customs data provides a useful cross-check. The World Bank’s WITS presentation of UN Comtrade data for 2015 reports Iranian saffron exports worth US$165.289 million and weighing 113,588 kilograms. That produces an average declared unit value of about US$1,455 per kilogram.

For calendar 2016, the same dataset reports US$286.046 million across 203,348 kilograms, or about US$1,407 per kilogram. These averages are close to the lower end of the headline range, but they do not prove that every shipment traded there. A national average combines many grades, destinations and commercial arrangements; premium lots or small packed orders can carry a different unit value.

Production, exports and domestic use

The original report cited three quantities for Iranian year 1394, which ran roughly from March 2015 to March 2016:

  • estimated production of 310 tonnes;
  • 55 tonnes described as exported “so far”; and
  • about 50 tonnes assigned to domestic consumption.

Those numbers led the interviewee to expect that not all saffron produced in year 1394 would be consumed before year 1395, leaving stocks that could weigh on prices. A simple subtraction would leave 205 tonnes, but that is not a reliable inventory calculation: the 55-tonne export figure was partial, the domestic-use number was approximate, and the periods may not have closed on the same date. The useful point is the concern about carry-over stock, not a falsely precise balance.

Why export statistics were disputed

Miri also said the National Saffron Council did not yet have the detailed export statistics it wanted. Customs figures existed, but he described inconsistencies and said the council was seeking better information for planning. That caveat belongs beside the production and export claims; it explains why the interview mixed firm-sounding numbers with uncertainty about the full trade picture.

Different sources can diverge without one necessarily being fraudulent. Iranian calendar-year totals and January-to-December international data cover different months. Customs records may be revised, and reporter data can differ from the figures declared by importing countries. Product code, net weight and whether the statistic describes bulk saffron or finished packs also need to be checked.

Why price volatility concerned exporters

The domestic market was described as quiet while exports continued. Miri’s concern was that sharp local price changes were difficult to pass through to overseas customers. Export buyers negotiate against competing origins and established contract expectations; a sudden domestic increase does not automatically raise the international price by the same amount.

For an exporter, that mismatch can narrow or erase the margin between purchase cost and the agreed selling price. For a buyer, it means a quotation needs a short validity period and a precise product specification. A vague offer for “Iranian saffron” does not establish the cut, strength, moisture, cleanliness, packaging or tested quality of the lot.

How to read a historical saffron price

Before comparing the US$1,400–US$2,200 band with another price, identify:

  1. the exact date and currency conversion used;
  2. whether the amount is per kilogram, gram or another unit;
  3. the commercial grade and measurable quality specification;
  4. whether the quote is farm-gate, domestic wholesale, export bulk or packaged retail;
  5. what packaging, freight, insurance, duties and payment costs are included; and
  6. whether the number is a transaction, an asking price or a national customs average.

Without those details, two price figures may look comparable while describing different products. Our historical Iranian saffron price-per-kilo review shows how grade, reporting window and wholesale context can produce very different ranges.

What this report establishes

The 2016 account preserves a stable one-month domestic market, a local range of 5.4–6.8 million tomans per kilogram, a reported export band of US$1,400–US$2,200, estimated production of 310 tonnes, partial exports of 55 tonnes and domestic use near 50 tonnes. It also preserves the speaker’s expectation that unsold year-1394 saffron could put downward pressure on price.

It does not establish a current saffron price, and it does not prove a single value for every grade. Its lasting value is as a dated market snapshot: one that becomes more useful when the unit, period, grade and source limitations stay attached to the numbers.

Sources