In a letter to the Vice President of Iran, Eshaq Jahangiri, the Minister of Agriculture, Mahmoud Hojjati, requested that executive organizations procure their tea from domestic manufacturers.
In his letter, Hojjati emphasized that purchasing tea from domestic producers will help the country’s tea industry and reduce the producers’ concerns over the timely sales of their products.
In this letter, Iranian tea was introduced as one of the healthiest in the world due to the lack of chemical pesticides used in its production.
Based on statistics released by the Iranian Tea Organization, the consumption of Iranian dry tea from 19 thousand tons in 2013 has increased to 31 thousand tons in 2016, which indicates a 63% growth.
Furthermore, due to governmental support, the production of green tea leaves reached 140 thousand tons in 2016. This number was 80 thousand tons, three years ago.
Mohammadvali Roozbahan, Head of the Iranian Tea Organization said: “72% of the tea consumed in Iran is imported. However, due to governmental support toward domestic tea farmers, importation has been reduced by 11%.”
Roozbahan counted guaranteed purchase of tea leaves, loans, loans to tea factories, establishing a tea industry support fund in which 100% of the shares for tea farmers has been paid by the government, sufficient cash flow for buying green tea leaves and timely payment to tea farmers as supportive actions carried out by the governmental.
In Iran, 32 thousand hectares of land in the northern regions (90% Gilan and 10% Mazandaran) are under tea plantation. Iran consumes nearly 4.5% of the tea used worldwide which places her among the world’s major consumers.
