Ministry: Afghanistan exports 67 tons of Saffron, all domestically produced

KABUL (Khaama Press): The Ministry of Industry and Commerce states that Afghanistan, with its high-quality saffron, does not need to rely on the saffron of other nations to compete in global markets, as Afghan saffron ranks first in the world.
According to the ministry’s spokesperson, Afghanistan exported 67 tons of saffron to various countries around the world last year. This comes as Iranian media reported yesterday that Afghanistan annually exports about 70 tons of saffron, with less than 20 tons being domestic production and the rest being Iranian saffron.
Iranian media quoted Ali Hosseini, a member of Iran’s Saffron Council, on Tuesday as saying that Afghanistan produces less than 20 tons of saffron but exports about 70 tons, indicating that Iranian saffron is sent there, packaged, and then exported from Afghanistan.
Abdulsalam Jawad, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in Afghanistan, responded to the remarks of an Iranian Saffron Council member in an interview with Khaama Press on Wednesday, April 17th, saying, “Afghanistan exported 67 tons of saffron worth about $49 million to various countries in last solar year -1402. All of this saffron was produced in Afghanistan.”
Jawad added that Afghanistan saffron is of excellent quality and ranks first in the world. Therefore, according to him, Afghanistan does not need to mix its saffron with that of other countries to gain a market share globally. The spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce further stated that all 67 tons of saffron exported by Afghanistan were domestically produced, and no other country’s saffron was mixed with it.
It is worth mentioning that Iranian media cited a member of the Iranian Saffron Council yesterday expressing concerns about losing global markets. This member of the Iranian Saffron Council had stated, “We handed over export markets that we had worked hard to prepare for years due to mismanagement in production, harvesting, and dual exports to Afghanistan and some other countries.”