Afghanistan: Afghanistan’s Relentless Opium Woes Have a 'New Seed in Town,' and It Comes from China

Mar 25, 2017 | Mariam Amini, CNBC
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A problem that Afghanistan and international governments have tried to eradicate for decades is only getting worse, and China is a big reason why. Last week, Afghanistan released new data showing opium production is surging, information that dovetailed with a widely circulated 2016 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report that showed similar findings. The primary problem is a new strain of genetically modified seed that comes from China, which allows poppies to be grown year round. The so-called Chinese seeds began appearing in 2015, according to the UNODC, leading to a massive 43 percent surge in production last year.