New Delhi: Opium production in Afghanistan, the epicenter of the global drug trade, has crossed the 6,000-ton mark for the fifth year in a row, a United Nations report said.
It is potentially producing 320 tonnes of pure heroin to be smuggled around the world, a report released Monday by the Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said.
Afghanistan has produced 6,800 tonnes of opium in 2021, registering an 8 percent increase in production.
With the Taliban taking over the country, the world’s largest opium producer, trade uncertainty has increased and this has only driven up opium prices. In the war-torn country, the impetus for opium cultivation has also increased amid rising poverty and food insecurity, the report said.
“The 2022 opium harvest will be based on decisions that farmers will make in November 2021, when they begin planting opium poppy.”
The report said that opium income was around $1.8-$2.7 billion in 2021.
“However, huge sums of money are earned along illicit drug supply chains outside Afghanistan. Taxes on the cultivation, production and smuggling of opium represent an attractive potential source of financing for non-state actors in the country.
Afghanistan accounted for about 85 percent of the global production of opium in 2020. The country’s economy has long been dependent on the sale of opium. During its two decades in Afghanistan, the US was not able to stop the illegal production of opium.
“As the illicit drug economy has become increasingly complex, methamphetamine manufacturing in Afghanistan has been increasing rapidly in recent years. High regional and global demand for methamphetamine, coupled with a saturated market for opiates, has been reported in the report. and may lead to further expansion of manufacturing of other synthetic drugs.
UNODC also said that the international community should provide “immediate” aid to the people of Afghanistan.
“Given the destabilizing security situation, the prolonged economic crisis and the health emergency, the international community must urgently provide the people of Afghanistan with basic necessities and services to support the cultivation, production and production of illicit drugs as part of non-support to promote a permanent reduction in demand,” the report said.
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