Myanmar Surpasses Afghanistan to Become Largest Producer of Opium, UN Report

In 2023, Myanmar became the world’s largest producer of opium. It overtook Afghanistan, where the Taliban government has become strict on opium cultivation and trade, according to a United Nations (UN) report released on Tuesday.

As per the report, Myanmar produced an estimated 1,080 metric tonnes of opium, mostly used to manufacture heroin in 2023, the report by the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said. In 2022, an estimated 790 metric tonnes of opium were produced in Myanmar.

Meanwhile, the opium production in Afghanistan came down by almost 95 per cent to around 330 tonnes as the Taliban banned poppy cultivation in April 2022.

The total estimated value of Myanmar’s “opiate economy” rose to between $1 billion and $2.4 billion, UNODC said.

In Myanmar, the main cultivating area is Shan state, which accounted for about 88 per cent of the 41,300 hectares (102,054 acres) of opium poppy areas nationwide, the UN report said.