Shipped Where
Imported, 2025Imported 2025
$17.3 million$17.3M
vs 2010
1.2× (nominal)
Arrived by shipBy ship
9%
Busiest portTop port
JFK Airport, NY

Most imported saffron comes from Spain: 80% of $17.3 million.

Afghanistan is second at 11%. Saffron threads and powder.

Where US saffron comes from, 2025Where it comes from

Share by value of the $17.3M the US imported, by country of originShare by value, by country of origin

  1. 01Spain$13.9M80.2%
  2. 02Afghanistan$2.0M11.5%
  3. 03India$544K3.1%
  4. 04Greece$437K2.5%
  5. 05Oman$87K0.5%
  6. 06Trinidad and Tobago$62K0.4%
  7. 07United Arab Emirates$54K0.3%
  8. 08Portugal$49K0.3%
  9. 09Vietnam$30K0.2%
  10. 10Italy$28K0.2%
  11. All othersEveryone else combined: $139K0.8%

Total US saffron imports by year · $14.4M in 2010 to $17.3M in 2025Replay the ranking year by year, 2010 to 2025

2025Press play to replay the ranking

Then and now: 2015 vs 2025Then and now

Each country's share of US saffron imports. Gray bar is 2015, colored bar is 2025.Share of US saffron imports. Gray is 2015, color is 2025.

Afghanistan1.5% → 11%
Greece0.5% → 2.5%
India1.2% → 3.1%
Oman0% → 0.5%
United Arab Emirates0% → 0.3%
Trinidad and Tobago0.1% → 0.4%
Vietnam0% → 0.2%
Italy1.2% → 0.2%
Turkey1.6% → <0.1%
Portugal5.4% → 0.3%
Spain87% → 80%
2015 share2025, gained2025, lost

Where it's grown

Bigger circle = more value, 2025. Numbers match the list.

Spain alone sends 80%, and Afghanistan, India and Greece add another 17%. Asia is the next-largest source region at 15%.

0102030405060708
0102030405060708
  1. 01Spain
  2. 02Afghanistan
  3. 03India
  4. 04Greece
  5. 05Oman
  6. 06Trinidad and Tobago
  7. 07United Arab Emirates
  8. 08Portugal

Where it lands

US port where it entered, 2025. Letters match the list.

86% arrives by air. JFK Airport alone takes 20%. Newark and Cleveland follow at 13% and 9%.

Air cargo is recorded where it clears customs, which isn't always where the plane landed.

ABCDEF
ABCDEF
  1. AJFK Airport, NY $3.4M
  2. BNewark, NJ $2.2M
  3. CCleveland, OH $1.5M
  4. DSan Francisco Airport (SFO), CA $1.5M
  5. ELos Angeles Airport (LAX), CA $1.5M
  6. FWashington Dulles, DC $915K
More detail: states listed on entry paperworkMore detail: states on paperwork

This is the destination written on customs forms, often a warehouse or distributor near the port. It is not where the saffron is used.

Five states are listed for over $1M each.

  1. 01California$4.2M
  2. 02New York$3.5M
  3. 03New Jersey$2.8M
  4. 04Florida$1.5M
  5. 05Virginia$1.1M
$1M+$400K–1M$100–400K$10–100KUnder $10K

Counted under HS 091020. How we count.