Last year, production was estimated at 790 tons. According to the UN report, the value of opium production in Myanmar grew between one and 2.4 billion dollars (up to 2.2 billion euros). This corresponds to between 1.7 and 4.1 percent of Myanmar's gross domestic product in 2022. Opium is obtained from the opium poppy and is the raw material for the drug heroin.
According to the UNODC, poppy cultivation in Myanmar is becoming increasingly sophisticated as greater investment and better practices – including better irrigation and the use of fertilizers – increase crop yields. As the Guardian reports, according to analysts, Myanmar's current military leadership is not interested in stopping the billion-dollar trade. It was only at the beginning of the year that the head of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control admitted that efforts to contain it had failed.
The country is sinking into chaos and violence
Since the generals' coup on February 1, 2021, Myanmar has descended into chaos and violence. In several parts of the country, ethnic groups are fighting against the army, which brutally represses any resistance.
The deposed former head of government, Aung San Suu Kyi, is in prison. In late October, three ethnic groups launched an offensive in northern Shan State, an administrative division of Myanmar that borders China, reportedly inflicting heavy casualties on the military. Given the fierce fighting in the country, the crisis-stricken state's president, Myint Swe, recently warned of the country's collapse. Tens of thousands of people are fleeing.
In Shan State, which makes up about a quarter of Myanmar, in addition to drug trafficking, casinos and “fraud factories” run by Chinese gangs are expanding. Most of the people working there are from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, who were lured with promises of lucrative employment – but are then forced to commit criminal acts.
Sharp decline in Afghanistan since Taliban rule
In Afghanistan, opium production fell sharply after the ruling Taliban banned the cultivation of opium poppies in April 2022. According to the UNODC, production fell by 95% to around 330 tonnes. Although cultivation was already illegal in Afghanistan before the Taliban came to power in August 2021, it was still widespread. Both the Taliban and members of the former foreign-backed government were seen as profiting from the opium trade.
The global number of drug users has increased by almost a quarter in a decade, according to a June UNDOC report. Between 2011 and 2021, the number of people using drugs increased from around 240 million to 296 million – a 23 percent increase. According to the agency, only about half of this increase can be attributed to global population growth. The number of people with drug addiction or illness increased by 45% to 39.5 million during this period.