Saffron price in Philippines

Key Takeaways :

  • Saffron is a key ingredient in popular Philippines dishes like Sinigang, Lechon, Adobo, and Longganisa, adding aroma and color to the recipes
  • The price of saffron in the Philippines varies based on quality, with retail prices ranging from about PHP 69,984.42 to PHP 150,735.67 per kilogram and wholesale prices offering a more cost-effective option.
  • Saffron can be purchased from local markets such as Baguio City Public Market, Divisoria, Quinta Market, and Fish port, as well as online shops like the Ghaaneh brand, with caution to avoid fake products and ensure authenticity.
Written by Vahid Epagloo, Food Consultant Updated:

Philippines cuisine is very famous, you can find almost all kinds of food there. When the cuisine of a country is famous means that this country know and use all kinds of spices. Saffron is an exotic spice in the world with unique color, fragrant aroma, and a favorable bitter taste. Let’s discuss the price of this golden spice in Philippines and the place you can find it there to buy.

Saffron in the cuisines of Philippines

Tourist books and sources said that you should test Philippines foods. Although, these foods have been affected by the cuisines of China, Malaysia, Spain, and India, they are famous and popular as the Philippines ones. When foods and culinary adventures of a country become famous means that spices have especial roll in the taste experiences of that country. Here are some of the most popular Philippines foods and desserts with saffron.

Sinigang

One of the popular Philippines stews that cook with fish, meat, or vegetables. This stew has a sour taste that needs tamarind or acidic Philippines fruits. Saffron as a spice added to this recipe to give a fragrant aroma to this stew.

Lechon

One of the most common Philippines foods in the festivals and parties is Lechon. Actually, this is pork feed in a liver sauce. The sauce is full of vinegar and spices like saffron. The Lechon finally cook on the fire and has a great taste.

Adobo

One of the most important foods in Philippines is Adobo. Actually, this is a national food in Philippines and serve all around the country. In order to cook Adobo, you can use meat, seafood, or vegetables. You should put these foodstuffs in the combination of vinegar, laurel, soya sauce, black pepper, garlic and saffron, after you cook them, you should serve them with rice. The vegetarian kind of Adobo is called Adobong Kangkong.

Longganisa

Most Philippines believe that Longganisa is one of the best Philippines foods. You can use it as breakfast or lunch. The Longganisa is a spicy or flavored pork sausage. This pork sausage serves alone, with rice, or vegetables. One of the popular spices that used in this recipe is saffron.

The price of saffron in Philippines

Saffron has a range of price due to its different types and quality. High-quality saffron or Iranian saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. You can find these kinds of saffron all around the world.

In 2024, you can find and buy saffron in retail for the price range of 1,257.62 $ to 2,708.72 $ per kilogram and 570.35 $ to 1,228.44 per pound. You may find the price range of retail saffron between PHP 69,984.42 and PHP 150,735.67 per kilogram, or PHP 31,738.97 and PHP 68,360.85 per pound in Philippines.

The wholesale price of saffron in this year in Philippines has a range between 880.33 $ and 1,896.10 $ per kilogram, and 399.24 $ and 859.91 $ per pound.

As it is clear, the wholesale buying is more profitable and cheaper. You can buy the saffron that you use during a year and store it with the desired conditions. Saffron has a great shelf life in the correct storing conditions. You should keep it in a dry, cold, and dark place, in an airtight container.

Where to buy saffron in Philippines?

You can find saffron in local shops in Philippines and any online shops in the world. Here we discuss some of them.

Local shops

There are many local shops that you can find saffron in them. You should be careful about fake saffron when you want to buy it. Try to learn about recognizing saffron and test before buying. We discuss some of the local shops that are more famous.

Baguio City Public Market

This market is famous as the wet and dry market in the Bagui. This is one of the best markets to buy fresh foodstuffs. Everything you could ever need, buy, or use would be selling here.

Divisoria

One of the crowded and famous street markets in Philippines is Divisoria. It is a metro market and known as the mother of all metro markets in Manila. You would find your saffron here, but do not forget to avoid the fake ones.

Quinta Market and Fish port

One of the oldest street markets in Philippines is called the Quinta market. It was rebuilt many years ago, and today, you can find all wet and dry foodstuffs there. The fishes that sell here make this place famous as the Fish port. You would find different types and quality of saffron here.

Online shops

There are various online shops that sell saffron and you can find them by searching on the web. The important point is that how could you trust them? You should check everything about online shops. Read the ideas of consumers about their buying experiences and check if they repeat their buying or not. You would also check the brands and suppliers, and the website licenses.

The Ghaaneh brand saffron offers you the high-quality saffron from Iran saffron field.

This brand has all types of saffron like Negin, Super Negin, Pushal, and powder, but it offers you the Super Negin saffron as the high-quality saffron. If you do not have enough time to grind your saffron, you can buy saffron powder, Ghaaneh brand makes it from the best Negin saffron. When you cannot recognize real saffron, you can order Pushal.

Conclusion

The first usage of saffron is the culinary use as a spice; other usages like beauty, cosmetic, industrial, and medicinal are common these days too. The increasing in saffron usage and demands is one of the main reasons that you see many fake saffron and frauds in the markets. Knowing the range of saffron price would help you not to deceive. You should also learn how to recognize real saffron. Check the price range and ask about the quality of saffron when you want to buy the magic spice.

FAQs

Can I use all types of saffron in my recipes?

You can use any types in your recipes. If you want the best aroma, color, and taste you should use Super Negin, Negin, or at least Pushal saffron. Try to use high-quality saffron to have better features.

In order to have medicinal properties of saffron, should I use it in an especial way?

Actually, you can use saffron in foods, desserts, and beverages, and in all these types you would use its medicinal properties, but experts recommend using it as saffron tea or saffron water. Generally, using saffron beverages is more recommended in order to use its medicinal benefits.

Why saffron is so expensive in Philippines?

Real saffron is expensive due to its cultivating conditions, harvesting, processing and other points. It has a higher price in Philippines due to the import fees. When a production is not produced in a country, they should pay more to import it. Unfortunately, Philippines has no desired conditions to cultivate saffron.

Can I remove saffron from my Philippines recipes?

Yes, you can. As you know using spices in the recipes are based on your taste. But using saffron helps you to have aromatic and colorful final food, beverage, or desserts. Philippines foods are full of spices; saffron is the best and most luxurious one.

Was this helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!