Afghanistan Nearly Doubles Opium Production in One Year

The estimated production of opium and area under poppy cultivation has already reached unprecedented levels this year in Afghanistan, according to the United Nations.

The illicit drug and its deadly heroin derivative are fueling the Taliban’s strength and helping expand the group’s reach.

In its Afghanistan Opium Survey 2017, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports:

The 2017 record levels of opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan create multiple challenges for the country, its neighbours and the many other countries that are transit for or destination of Afghan opiates. The significant levels of opium poppy cultivation and illicit trafficking of opiates will probably further fuel instability, insurgency and increase funding to terrorist groups in Afghanistan. More high quality, low cost heroin will reach consumer markets across the world, with increased consumption and related harms as a likely consequence.

When compared to 2016, production nearly doubled (87 percent increase) from 4,800 metric tons to 9,000 metric tons.

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