Myanmar overtakes Afghanistan as a leader in opium production

Myanmar is now the world's largest opium producer, overtaking Afghanistan, according to a UN report, UNN reports with reference to the BBC.

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This year, opium production is estimated to grow by 36% to 1080 tons, far exceeding the 330 tons reportedly produced in Afghanistan.

Poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has declined by 95% since the drug ban imposed by the ruling Taliban last year.

Meanwhile, cultivation has expanded in Myanmar, where a brutal civil war has made it a lucrative source of income.

"The disruptions to the economy, security and governance that have occurred since the military coup in February 2021 continue to push farmers in remote areas to turn to opium to earn a living," said Jeremy Douglas, regional representative for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

Opium, a key ingredient in the powerful drug heroin, has been grown for decades in Myanmar, where it has financed rebel groups fighting the government, the newspaper writes.

But in the past year alone, as the civil war triggered by the 2021 coup raged, cultivation has increased by about 18% - it has also become "increasingly sophisticated," the report says, and more productive through the use of tightly organized plots, irrigation systems and sometimes fertilizers.

Heroin production and trafficking is the most lucrative activity in the opium economy: the report estimates that up to 154 tons of heroin, worth up to $2.2 billion, were exported from Myanmar this year.

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The region where the borders of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet - the so-called "Golden Triangle" - has historically been a major source of opium and heroin production. Myanmar and Afghanistan, as noted by the BBC, are the sources of most of the heroin sold around the world.