The second seminar to introduce the Islamic Republic's saffron and herbal medicines will be held in Ferdowsi Hall of the Iranian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan in the near future.
Some 140 Iranian and Japanese university professors and researchers will participate in the event.
Head of the Fund for Development of Saffron Export, Ali Shariati Moqaddam, called for safeguarding the name of Iranian saffron (red gold) in the international markets.
He said Islamic Republic supplies over 96 percent of the red gold in the world.
"Although Iran produces the top-quality saffron, the market is being dominated by other countries," he said.
Shariati Moqaddam underlined that Iranian saffron are currently distributed internationally under Spanish and UAE trademarks.
"Saffron comes in wholesale amounts in large bulk packages and some countries such as Spain and UAE are selling Iranian saffron under their own name," the official said.
Shariati Moqaddam stated that such seminars play a vital role in introducing Iranian saffron to the world.
He said that saffron is useful in curing depression, Alzheimer's disease, cancer and so on.
"Once the Iranian red gold is introduced properly in Japan, Islamic Republic could export over 120-150 tons of saffron to Japan annually," he said.
Saffron is more than an aromatic spice for rice, soups and meat dishes. Dried filaments from the saffron flower have been used for thousands of years to make perfumes, colored dyes, and even herbal medicines.
Saffron is known to be a strong antioxidant, a substance thought to protect the body.
© IRNA 2008
