Afghan saffron has for the third year in a row been rated as the best in the world.
The International Taste and Quality Institute in Brussels ranked Afghan saffron as having the best taste and quality amongst 300 samples from different countries, news agencies reported.
The Institute was founded in 2003 in Brussels and has recognized hundreds of quality products over the years.
Afghanistan obtained international recognition for its saffron products in a very short period of time due to its popularity.
On international markets, Afghan saffron products compete with saffron products from Iran and Spain.
The majority of saffron producers in Afghanistan are (ISO) certified and export their products to Gulf countries, Europe, and the United States.
The average price for Afghanistan's saffron is $2,000/kg due to its quality and fragrance.
Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture has meanwhile announced that the national council of economy has ratified a 5-year saffron development strategy for the country.
President Ashraf Ghani affirmed the ratification of the strategy. The Office of the President further stated that it directed the relevant government bodies to implement a procedure under which the Afghan saffron packages are to be labeled with unique bar codes to prevent product fraud.
Ghani indicated that investors from the United Arab Emirates and China are interested in creating markets for Afghan saffron in their respective countries and he welcomes any efforts in this regard.
Afghanistan started to produce saffron in 2001 and this valuable product is currently cultivated on more than 850 Hectares of agricultural land. Early in February officials from the ministry of agriculture and irrigation said that Afghanistan will harvest 4,000 kg of saffron this year as farmers across the country continue to cultivate the valuable herb.
It is said that Afghanistan's climate and soil are ideal to grow saffron.
Based on statistics, Afghanistan can produce more saffron than any other saffron producing country if necessary support is provided to farmers.
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