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“Since the outbreak of the disease, we have taken serious measures in collaboration with the Food and Drug Organization and the board of trustees, as well as knowledge-based companies,” Sattari was quoted as saying, adding: “An example is the production of N95 and N99 masks...” “Iran is one of few countries that have nano-filter paper-making machines. The [resulting] masks are capable of sifting particles less than three-tenths of a nanometre in diameter, and can prevent viruses from going through the masks,” he added.
Face masks cannot entirely protect a person from a coronavirus infection, but they can limit their exposure.
The Iranian health minister, Saeed Namaki, announced that schools and universities would remain closed until Nowruz, the Persian new year, on 20 March.
Namaki told people to stay in their vehicles at petrol stations and allow attendants to fill their tanks to avoid the spread of the virus. Iran has also cancelled Friday prayers in major cities.
9.1.8​ Agriculture & commodities sector news
Some 186 tonnes of saffron—the world’s most costly spice by weight—worth around $640mn (at the free market exchange rate) were officially exported by Iran from March to December, according to data from the Agricultural Ministry says.
Accurate export figures on saffron are hard to determine as the extremely light commodity is often smuggled out of the Islamic Republic in suitcases. Often referred to as the “suitcase spice”, it is valued at €10-12 per gram. Iran grows approximately 90% of the world’s saffron.
In the current 2019/2020 Persian year, some 400 tonnes, grown on 114,000 hectares of land in Iran, have been officially weighed by producers and recorded by the government.
“Iran exports saffron to 10 countries, mostly through the UAE,” Mohsen Ehtesham, head of Iran's National Council of Saffron, was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency after the release of the export figure.
Locations as far as the US and Japan are popular grey market export destinations for the spice, used as a seasoning and colouring agent in food, but official figures suggest a substantial amount of the legal exports went through the UAE.
China, Vietnam, Italy, Qatar, the UK, France and Germany were some of the official destinations for Persian saffron.
In the 2018/2019 Persian year (ended last mid-March), 280 tonnes of saffron were exported.
Iran’s dairy product exports are expected to cross the one-million-tonne threshold by the end of the 2019/2020 Persian calendar year (March 19), Deputy Agriculture Minister Morteza Rezaei has told Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
Iran’s dairy industry has significantly expanded in recent years. It now takes in operations in neighbouring countries including Iraq ​and, thanks to a recent deal, Armenia​. Despite its mostly arid climate, Iran is the most significant milk producer in Western Asia after Turkey. It has industrial-sized farms spread the length and breadth of the country.
According to the minister, Iran’s main dairy export destinations are Iraq, Afghanistan and Russia. He added that other export destinations included Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Japan, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
40​ IRAN Country Report April 2020 www.intellinews.com