CAIRO: A new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows a 133 percent increase in the value of opium in Afghanistan when compared to 2010. Opium production now accounts for 9 percent of the state’s GDP, UNODC reports. Analysts believe that the dramatic spike in prices could be due to a plant disease that destroyed much of the Afghani poppy crops in 2010, driving up prices. The problem intensified with a drop in the price of wheat that same year. According to the UNODC survey, opium income accounted for US $1.4 billion last year, accounting for 90 percent of the world’s overall opium production. “Opium is therefore a significant part of the Afghan economy and provides considerable funding to the insurgency and fuels corruption,” said Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of UNODC. The UNODC reported that 60 percent of farmers surveyed in 2011 said they were attracted by the large gains of poppy cultivation. “The Afghan Opium Survey 2011 sends a strong message that we cannot afford to be lethargic in the face of this problem. We thank the Government of Afghanistan for the leadership and dedication already shown, but a stronger commitment from a broad range of national and international partners is needed to turn this worrying trend around” said Mr. Fedotov. BM, Image Source: Wikimedia, Source: Bikya Masr
Monday, 21 May 2012
Afghan economy more dependent on opium, says UN
CAIRO: A new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows a 133 percent increase in the value of opium in Afghanistan when compared to 2010. Opium production now accounts for 9 percent of the state’s GDP, UNODC reports. Analysts believe that the dramatic spike in prices could be due to a plant disease that destroyed much of the Afghani poppy crops in 2010, driving up prices. The problem intensified with a drop in the price of wheat that same year. According to the UNODC survey, opium income accounted for US $1.4 billion last year, accounting for 90 percent of the world’s overall opium production. “Opium is therefore a significant part of the Afghan economy and provides considerable funding to the insurgency and fuels corruption,” said Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of UNODC. The UNODC reported that 60 percent of farmers surveyed in 2011 said they were attracted by the large gains of poppy cultivation. “The Afghan Opium Survey 2011 sends a strong message that we cannot afford to be lethargic in the face of this problem. We thank the Government of Afghanistan for the leadership and dedication already shown, but a stronger commitment from a broad range of national and international partners is needed to turn this worrying trend around” said Mr. Fedotov. BM, Image Source: Wikimedia, Source: Bikya Masr