Iran importing tea from Germany and Turkey
Executive Manager of Iran’s Tea Factories Syndicate Mohammad Sadeq Hassani says that Iran has exported 10,000 tons of tea for 97 cents per kilo in the first five months of the current year and in return the country has imported some 33,437 tons of tea for $5 per kilo.
Speaking to ILNA news agency, Sadeq Hassani said that in the past years and with fewer number of factories, Iran used to produce some 70,000 tons of tea per year while today with the rise in the number of the factories the tea production does not even reach 30,000 tons per year and currently 50 percent of tea plant farms have been ruined or turned into villas.
He reiterated that drought has not affected the tea production and said Iranian tea farmers almost provide 30 percent of the national tea consumption and considerable amount of the Iranian tea is exported, and if the country stops exporting, it will face problem to meet the domestic needs.
Hassani added that he does not agree exporting tea and stipulated that the country has exported some 10,000 tons of tea for 97 cents per kilo while it has imported 33,437 tons of tear from 24 kilos for $5 per kilo. He noted here a question is raised what the advantage of this export is for the country.
He went on to say that even the tea-rich countries import Iranian tea, adding that Iranian tea has conquered the markets of India, Kenya, Turkey and China.
"Russia, Iraq, Pakistan, Germany, Lebanon, Qatar, the Netherlands, Georgia, Turkmenistan, the UAE and Ukraine are the other tea importers from Iran."
Hassani stated Iran imported some 5,125 tons of tea from India in the first five months of the current year and the country has also imported tea from Sri Lanka, the UAE, Turkey, China, Kenya, Vietnam and Germany, reiterating that Iran is currently importing tea from Germany while there is not even a tea farm in that country.
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