"The growth reaffirms Myanmar's role as the world's known main source of illicit opium, following the continued decline of cultivation in Afghanistan, the UNODC said on Wednesday. This major expansion in cultivation shows the extent to which the opium economy has re-established itself over the past years and points to potential further growth in the future, said Delphine Schantz, UNODC's representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific."
"While the area of land under poppy cultivation in Myanmar increased sizably between 2024 and 2025, the amount of opium produced per hectare of poppy has not kept pace, according to the UNODC. The discrepancy between cultivation and production of opium was due to the country's growing instability, the UNODC said, where intensifying conflict and insecurity have made it increasingly difficult for farmers to maintain their crops and produce high yields of opium."
Opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar rose 17% from 45,200 hectares to 53,100 hectares between 2024 and 2025, reaching a ten-year peak. Myanmar has become the world's main known source of illicit opium as cultivation declined in Afghanistan. The increase in cultivated area has not produced equivalent yields per hectare because intensifying conflict and insecurity have made it harder for farmers to maintain crops and secure high yields. Rising opium prices, which have more than doubled since 2019 when 1kg cost $145, have provided stronger incentives for poppy farming and risk further expansion of the opium economy.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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