Opium production in Afghanistan slumped an estimated 95%, according to a UN report

Myanmar became the world’s biggest producer of opium in 2023, overtaking Afghanistan after the Taliban government’s crackdown on the trade, according to a United Nations report.

Myanmar produced an estimated 1,080 metric tonnes of opium – essential for producing heroin – this year, according to the latest report by the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The figures come after opium production in Afghanistan slumped an estimated 95% to about 330 tonnes after the Taliban’s ban on poppy cultivation in April last year, according to UNODC.

The “Golden Triangle” border region between Myanmar, Laos and Thailand has long been a hotbed of illegal drug production and trafficking, particularly of methamphetamine and opium.

  • BarqsHasBite@lemmy.caEnglish
    10·
    7 months ago

    So what do the Afghan farmers grow now?

    *Found in a different article:

    Many farmers turned to cultivating wheat instead, with an overall increase of 160,000 hectares in cereal cultivation across the Farah, Hilmand, Kandahar, and Nangahar provinces. Though wheat cultivation may alleviate food insecurity to some extent, the crop generates much less income than opium – farmers in the four provinces lost around US$ 1 billion in potential income in 2023 by switching to wheat.

    • robocall@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      7 months ago

      IIRC the Taliban successfully banned opium production in Afghanistan after the US left.

      • Doorbook@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        7 months ago

        They successfully did it before then the US came with guns boosting the production to the top of the chart.

        Then when they left, media literally start crying about the poor farmers like it is a bad thing.