Member of Iran’s Council of Saffron Ali Hosseini has warned about the growing trend of smuggling the bulbs of saffron plant into neighboring Afghanistan; saying if the trend continues Afghanistan is likely to replace Iran as the world’s major producer of saffron. “It has been going on for the past 7-8 years. Unfortunately, the smugglers grow in number ever year at the time of harvest season,” he was quoted by Mehr news agency as saying. Iran is the world’s largest producer and exporter of saffron, accounting for approximately 90% of the world production.
