Dry saffron on a table spoon

Why Is Saffron So Expensive?

Saffron is one of the most valuable spices medicine in the world from the past. Ancient Romans and Greeks have used saffron as a perfume. Not only past but also today use saffron as a cooking spice, herb, medicine, and even as a clothing and skin dye. Now let’s move to the price of Saffron.

When we are talking about the price of saffron, surely you will be shocked. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world, and its price is about 5000$ per Pound. The next most costly spices are Vanilla and Cardamom, respectively, and also their prices are 600$ and 30$.

According to these details, you can understand Saffron is really expensive.

What can be the reason for this huge price? Is Saffron valuable for this price? Let’s discuss this.

There are four main reasons for this huge price, and they are as follows.

  • Saffron makes using the Crocus Sativus flower (Saffron Crocus flower). Actually, saffron is the stigma of this flower. One Crocus Sativus flower has only three red stigmas, and it is the female part of the flower. This stigma is not very weighty, so we need 60,000-90,000 Crocus Sativus flowers to produce one pound of saffron. It is the main reason for this high price. Planting Crocus Sativus is not easy work. Crocus Sativus is a very sensitive flower, and there are unique treatments for it. 
Saffron Flowers
Saffron Flowers Planting
  • As mentioned above, the saffron flower needs its unique treatments. All of these treatments should do by hand works. So we need laborers for that. They have to pick the stigma and dry it. Laborers should do it very carefully because they must avoid damaging the other parts of the plant. We need many laborers for it, and it is another reason for this high price of saffron.
saffron flowers
Crocus Sativus Flowers
  • Saffon has many usages like as a medicine, dye, spice, herb and also as a cosmetic. Saffron is rich in some rare natural chemicals like Picrocrocin, Crocin, and Safranal. All of them are really expensive chemicals and high in medical importance. Because of these reasons Saffron has a good demand in the market because of these valuable chemicals.
saffron
Saffron Stigmas
  • Saffron is very sensitive on every side, and it needs its own climate conditions to grow well. Morning is the preferred time to harvest saffron because sunlight can break the chemical structure of saffron. The main supplier of the saffron is Iran because arid fields and climate of Iran are suitable for saffron. Actually saffron native to Mediterranean, Southwest Asia, and Iran. Another special point about saffron is it has massive resistance against cold weather.
Crocus Sativus flowers
Crocus Sativus Flowers

Those are the reason behind the massive price of saffron. Now you will feel some excuse about this expensive price of saffron.

Not only Iran today saffron grows in India, Afganisthan, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, France too. But about 90% of the saffron mass in today’s world produce in Iran. The United States also grows saffron today, but it’s a little bit because the United States hasn’t a suitable climate for that. 

Saffron taste is totally different from other spices, and it has a fantastic feeling. Not only taste it’s smell also very lovely.

According to my tasting experiences, I believe that everyone should taste saffron at least one time of their lifetime. Surely you will not worry about the price because saffron has a wealthy taste for that wealthy price.