Myanmar's opium cultivation increased after junta takeover - UN

The United Nations on January 26 revealed that a significant increase in opium cultivation has been observed in Myanmar following the military takeover in 2021.

In the latest report titled Myanmar Opium Survey 2022: Cultivation, Production and Implications, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said opium cultivation has increased by 33 per cent since the military takeover in the Southeast Asian nation, Anadolu reports.

"The first full growing season since the military takeover shows an increase of 33 per cent in cultivation area to 40,100 hectares and an 88 per cent increase in potential yield to 790 metric tonnes. Following a moderate increase in the cultivation area of 2 per cent and yield of 4 per cent during the 2021 season, the 2022 results confirm a significant expansion is underway of Myanmar’s opium economy," according to the UNODC report, published on its website.

The latest increase shows the reversing of the downward trend from 2014 to 2020, it said.

“Economic, security, and governance disruptions that followed the military takeover of February 2021 have converged, and farmers in remote often conflict-prone areas in northern Shan and border states have had little option but to move back to opium,” said UNODC Regional Representative Jeremy Douglas.

According to the report, the most significant increases were reported in Shan State where cultivation went up by 39 per cent , followed by Chin and Kayah states by 14 per cent and 11 per cent , while cultivation in Kachin rose by a moderate 3 per cent .

“The average estimated opium yield also increased by 41 per cent to 19.8 kg/ha – the highest value since UNODC started measuring it in 2002 – pointing to increasingly sophisticated farming practices and availability of fertilizers," it's said.

While the price paid to farmers also increased by 69 per cent during last year to about $280 per kilogram.

“The growth we are witnessing in the drug business is directly connected to the crisis the country is facing. The impact on the region is profound, and the country’s neighbors need to assess and candidly address the situation, and they will need to consider some difficult options,” said Douglas

The regional value of the heroin trade in Myanmar is about $2 billion out of approximately $10 billion in the region.

“Without alternatives and economic stability, it is likely that opium cultivation and production will continue to expand,” Benedikt Hofmann, UNODC Country Manager for Myanmar, commented.