Shirzad, who is also Chairman of the Board of Directors and Managing Director of the Central Organization of Rural Cooperatives of Iran (CORC), pointed to the volume of the purchased saffron, saying, “It should be noted that Khorasan Razavi province had the highest purchase with 68844 kg, South Khorasan province is the second with 2,512 kg and North Khorasan province had the lowest purchse with 761 kg.”
“In total, the whole saffron purchased by the Saffron Purchasing Working Group has been the highest targeted intervention in the saffron market in the last 50 years,” he added.
Shirzad said the value of the purchased saffron in Khorasan Razavi province was 6,424,320 million rials ($1= 145000 rial), it was 228,800 million rials in South Khorasan and North Khorasan was about 73,843 million rials.
He said the total value of the purchased saffron was 6,726,965 million rials, adding that so far, 2,403,153 million rials, equivalent to 36% of the total value have been paid to saffron growers.
He said the CORC is consulting with operating banks to pay for the rest of saffron farmers’ claims, and noted that the Saffron Sponsored Purchase Plan is under the auspices of the Central Bank’s Planning and Budget Organization.
Shirzad further said that the Saffron Support Purchase Operation, announced by the Minister of Agriculture-Jihad, was carried out in a completely decentralized manner in the three said provincial provinces of the country.
He noted that in terms of purchasing, the mechanism of purchase, how to choose the stewards , how to store, how to maintain and secure it, all of which are important milestones in the purchase of saffron.
