Afghanistan Saffron and Potential for the Economy: An Overview of International Trade and Domestic Well Being

Abstract

Foreign companies import Afghan saffron, which is considered to be best quality in the world. These companies then apply their labels and market the product under their country names. By adopting methodology required for production and market analysis, a study was conducted to determine the potential for production, export and value share. The study used techniques such as compound annual growth rate (CAGR) and decomposition analysis to determine changes in the area, production and productivity of saffron from 1991-92 to 2021-22. The findings revealed that the growth rates of area, production and productivity of saffron significantly increased by 29.61 per cent, 29.06 per cent and 0.42 per cent annually respectively. Additionally, the returns per hectare of Afghanistan’s saffron were compared to other crops such as wheat, rice, corn and barley and the returns of saffron were found to be the highest. The export of Afghanistan’s saffron also increased annually, providing farmers with more income opportunities.