Opium supply plunges under Taliban infographic
Graphic shows decrease in Afghanistan’s opium cultivation and production.
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AFGHANISTAN

Afghan opium production plunges after Taliban ban

By Jordi Bou

November 6, 2023 - Opium poppy production has declined by 95% since the Taliban banned the crop in April 2022, decimating rural farming and compounding Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said opium cultivation fell throughout the country to just 10,800 hectares in 2023 from 233,000 hectares the previous year, slashing supply by 95% to 333 tonnes.

The huge contraction in supply from Afghanistan – estimated to supply around 80% of the world's illegal opium – could eventually lead to a drop in opium use internationally, but it also risked escalating the global use of alternatives such as fentanyl or synthetic opioids, the UNODC said

This was putting pressure on farmers in the war-torn country, where most people depend on agriculture and the value of poppy exports had at times outstripped the value of all formal exported goods, UNODC said.

Farmer's incomes have fallen by 92% this year, from an estimated $1.36 billion to $110 million.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 06/11/2023; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Getty Images
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