Myanmar became the world’s biggest producer of opium in 2023, overtaking Afghanistan after the Taliban government’s crackdown on the trade, according to a United Nations report. blacksprut com

Myanmar produced an estimated 1,080 metric tonnes of opium – essential for producing heroin – this year, according to the latest report by the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The figures come after opium production in Afghanistan slumped an estimated 95% to about 330 tonnes after the Taliban’s ban on poppy cultivation in April last year, according to UNODC.

A fighter of the TNLA ethnic rebel group stands guard in the town of Namhkam in northern Shan state Myanmar fighting at its worst since 2021 coup, says UN Read more The “Golden Triangle” border region between Myanmar, Laos and Thailand has long been a hotbed of illegal drug production and trafficking, particularly of methamphetamine and opium.

The total estimated value of Myanmar’s “opiate economy” rose to between $1bn and $2.4bn – the equivalent of 1.7% to 4.1% of the country’s 2022 GDP, the UNODC said.