By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ISTANBUL (AA) – The UN on Tuesday declared junta-ruled Myanmar as the world’s largest source of opium.
According to UN Office on Drugs and Crime, opium cultivation in the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia “continued to expand over the past year, with a significant increase in Myanmar.”
In its latest report titled Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2023: Cultivation, Production and Implications, the UN Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific revealed that since the 2021 military takeover in Myanmar, opium cultivation grew by 18% from 40,100 to 47,100 hectares (99,000 to 116,000 acres).
“At 1,080 metric tons today, the potential yield is at its highest since 2001 … Myanmar now stands as the world’s largest source of opium,” it said.
“The economic, security and governance disruptions that followed the military takeover of February 2021 continue to drive farmers in remote areas towards opium to make a living,” UN regional representative Jeremy Douglas said. “The intensification of conflict in Shan (state) and other border areas is expected to accelerate this trend.”