A United Nations report, published on Tuesday, showed that Myanmar (Burma) will become the largest producer of opium in the world in 2023, surpassing Afghanistan, where the Taliban movement, after regaining power in Kabul, banned the cultivation of the poppy plant from which this drug is extracted.
According to the report prepared by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in 2023, Myanmar produced an estimated 1,080 tons of opium, three times more than Afghanistan produced of this drug during the same period.
In 2022, Myanmar produced 790 tons of opium, which is necessary to manufacture heroin.
On the other hand, opium production in Afghanistan decreased this year by 95%, reaching about 330 tons.
This huge decline came after the Taliban banned poppy cultivation in April last year, according to the same report.
The border region between Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, called the “Golden Triangle,” has long been considered a hotbed of drug production and trafficking, especially methamphetamine and opium.
According to estimates by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Myanmar’s “opioid economy” generates between $1 billion and $2.4 billion, equivalent to 1.7% to 4.1% of the country’s gross domestic product.
Since the Taliban regained power in Kabul in 2021, it has pledged to end drug production in Afghanistan.
In April 2022, the extremist movement banned the cultivation of the poppy plant, whose juice is used to make opium and heroin.
The Taliban previously banned poppy cultivation in Afghanistan in 2000, before the United States overthrew its rule following the attacks of September 11, 2001.
#Opium #production…a #country #Golden #Triangle #surpasses #Afghanistan #ranks #among #top #countries #world
2023-12-12 12:59:24
