M Ghorbani - Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics Faculty of Agriculture Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Saffron is a strategic product of Iran. Iran’s share of Saffron from the world production and export is almost 90 %. Labor requirement for Saffron production is 200 man day per hectare. However, this figure is much higher in the processing and marketing sectors. DRC and SCB indices show that production of Saffron in Iran has comparative advantage. Marketing margin of Saffron is high so that producers receive less than 65 % of final price of consumer. Over 70 % of household income made by Saffron. According to special advantage of this product, creation of regional marketing board beside agricultural exchange market for coordinating production, marketing and export and maintaining market share is suggested.

employment, exchange market, Khorasan