Myanmar Surpasses Afghanistan And Became Leading Opium Producer In The World: UN Report (image @Pixabay)

Overtaking Afghanistan, Myanmar has become the top opium producer in the world. The new development became after the ruling Taliban imposed a ban on the cultivation of Poppy in Afghanistan, as per new report by United Nations. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said Myanmar has produced 1,080 metric tons of Opium in 2023, which is the highest for the nation since 2001.

Taliban’s ban on cultivation has cut down the production of Poppy to 95%. Afghanistan have a history of producing illegal opium production. UN said if the ban on the opium production in the country continued, it may result in global shortages of the opiates including the heroin. This may also lead to the increase production of the it from the Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar.

The opium trade in Myanmar has increased for about 36 percentage in 2023 than compared to 2022. This is the third consecutive year the country is showing increase un their opium production. The “opiate economy” economy in Myanmar is worth between $1 billion and $2.5 billion. It constitutes to the national GDP by 2% to 4%, as said by the report.

Myanmar, under its military rule, has been one of the major drug producers for decades. But much of its increased production has been fueled by the critical economic situation and instability that followed the military’s return to after the country has experimented with democracy for a brief period of time.

UNODC found that the opium production in region has become “increasingly sophisticated and more productive”. Before, the opium production in the Southeast Asia was generally used as a cash crop. The UNODC report said the “sowing poppy in densely organized plots” paired with the use of “irrigation systems, and sometimes fertilizers” accelerated the total production level of the country’s opium to “historic level”.