1. The Islamic Republic of Iran
Iranian Saffron
The Case Study of
The Islamic Republic of Iran
Presented to the Workshop on
FAO-EC regional seminar on rural development and agricultural and food quality linked to geographical origin in Asia
8–11 June 2009
Imperial Queen’s Park, Bangkok
                                               

2. Iranian Saffron Introduction History
•Saffron originates in the old state of Mede
•Used in the Achaemenian Age
•Exported to Roman Empire in the Parthian Era
•A common product During the Sassanid Dynasty
•Taken to Spain during the Muslims conquest
•Later taken to Walden region in England
              

3. Iranian Saffron Saffron caltivation Area, production and yield
•Area increased from 5,530 ha. in 1983 to 53,180 ha. in 2003, (by 12 times)
•Production grew from 18.5 tons in 1983 to 180 tons in 2002
•Yield improved from 3.35 kg\ha. to 4.19 kg\ha
Different grades of saffron
Effects of natural and human factors in the cultivation environment

4. Iranian Saffron Economic Importance
Global trade in saffron The statistics of Iranian saffron exports, according to the Customs Organization of Iran, are shown (values are in millions of dollars)
Main Markets
Regional markets: Persian Gulf countries, including United Arab Emirates, Kuwait,Saudi Arabia, Qatar, etc.
European markets: Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, the U.K.,
Other markets: The USA, Canada, Argentina, Taiwan, Japan, etc.

5. Iranian Saffron National standard & ISO standard
ISIRI 259 & ISIRI 5689
ISO 3632
Organizations supervising standardization and quality of saffron
ISIRI
FDCL
TPO
Judiciary authorities

6. Iranian Saffron
Regulations and agreements pertaining to geographic indication in IRAN
Trademarks Act passed in 1925
Accession to Paris Convention in 1959, and to its complementary treatise in 1998
Accession to Madrid Agreement and Madrid Protocol in 2004
Decree on the Specification of Origin approved by the Government in January of 2005
Accession to Lisbon Convention in the process
An action plan in the agenda of the parliament for the Protection of Geographical Originality
Legal instruments being developed for the Protection of Indigenous Knowledge and Genetic Resources
A special committee set up to review the regulations of WIPO as a model and
recommend sufficient legislation to fill possible legal gaps in geographical indication

7. Iranian Saffron Problem:
Although Iran is the first producer of saffron in the world ,she is not the main country that determines the fate of saffron. Over 80 percent of “Iranian red gold” is re-exported from main so- called international ,leading world producers with their brands name. Even some other neighboring countries mix Iranian saffron with their own products and export it.
Solution :
Small packaging
Control of smuggling
Geographical Indication

8. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION