Feature: Saffron, Iran's mysterious spice, appeals to inside and outside world

In November, the northeast plains of Iran deliver buds of violet flowers embracing invaluable red and delicate threads of saffron styles and stigmas cherished by almost all the Iranians and world people.

In Iran, dried threads of the spice, ground and dissolved in water, are widely utilized to add aromatic and sweet-fragrant flavor to the local cuisine, drinks, candies, chocolates and sweets.

Women, experienced and skilful, season and decorate the local foods, ranging from Kebab, Ash, rice and Sholeh-Zard, with the bright yellowish liquid of saffron to proudly offer them in the family reunions, parties and religious ceremonies.

Also in Iran's traditional restaurants, it is an ineluctable ingredient in the foods the vivid sight of which appeals both to the locals and foreign visitors.

Roving the lands of northeast Khorasan province in search of Iran's homegrown treasure, you will inevitably visit Torbat-e Heydarieh, as "the capital of saffron in the world," Sabbagh Zadeh, owner of a saffron producing company in the town, said.

"You are welcome to the most saffronish city of the world," also reads the tableau posted at the entrance of Torbat-e Heydarieh, which significantly projects collective imagery of hue and scent from the town.

Early November in this region is the season of mellow fruitfulness of the flowers of Crocus sativus, which are ready to be picked. The vast prairie surrounding the town is the locus where the crowd of labourers, men and women, keep steady their laden head harvesting the crop.

"I would like to draw your attention to the labour that the farmers undertake. They are involved intensively in planting and harvesting the crop," Sabbagh Zadeh told Xinhua.

"Out of 170,000 flowers, we can get one kilo of dried high quality saffron," he said, adding that one can guess how much labour they should put into work for a small amount of the end-product.

However, the planters cannot earn much for their labour as the costs of services are very high, frowned a local farmer.

"The cultivation (of saffron) is not prosperous (for the farmer), firstly due to the water shortage. Also, fertilizers are very expensive and the market is spoiled by some people," he added.

According to a research done by Mohammad Ghorbani, the professor of agricultural studies from Iran's Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, producers receive less than 65 percent of final price of consumer.

Women, as the integral part of the production process, also contribute actively to the work by removing the red threads of saffron from the Crocus sativus flowers. They gather together in small communities in their houses, chattering, drinking tea and doing their chores.

As they are busy collecting the strands, samples are taken to the labs where technical examinations are carried out to evaluate the quality of saffron. This is a must-included stage for the exporters, since they need the qualifications as the standard for their goods.

According to the owner of the company, after the required quality assessments, they decide on the target market.

The price for each kilo of Iran's high quality saffron is presently around 1,900 U.S. dollars in the local market. Iran's saffron is also used in Asian, European and Middle Eastern countries for cooking food, in confectioneries and liquors, producing cosmetics and traditional medicines.

Iran's share of saffron from the world production and export is almost 90 percent, but less has been done to make it known as it deserves. The "red gold" of the country, as the much-in-demand spice, needs to be well-introduced to the world.

"Why don't you try to go global through the simple thing of advertisement, at least, in English. You can go any place in the world with English. Then via this simple strategy, perhaps slowly, Iran's saffron can be known in the world," the Indonesian Ambassador to Iran, Dian Wirengjurit, who was in Torbat-e Heydarieh for visiting the farms and factories involved in the industry, told Xinhua.

Also, Jean Thiercelin, the French Manufacturer of Botanic Treasures, said that "Iran is the biggest producer of saffron around the world. The problem is that marketing of saffron is still at the hands of foreign traders, that is, Spanish traders."

"Even Iranian traders have their companies in Spain. So, they import Iranian saffron to sell Spanish saffron. The question is mostly that saffron from Iran should be promoted to the end-user as good saffron," Thiercelin, who had participated in a saffron seminar in Torbat-e Heydarieh, also told Xinhua.

Moreover, an official in the town emphasized the need for further introduction of saffron to the local and global market, saying that the city officials in "Torbat-e Heydarieh are considering to establish a permanent saffron exhibition in the following years, which would help us sell the fresh flower of saffron in the city."

"We are planning to organize tours to Torbat-e Heydarieh to promote the business," Ashraf Jahangiri, member of the town council in Torbat-e Heydarieh, added. Endit