Afghanistan's Opium Production Is Down 48% This Year

VOA: UN: Afghan Opium Production Down 48%

ISLAMABAD — The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported Wednesday that the amount of opium produced in Afghanistan during the current year dropped by 48 percent.

"We have 3,300 tons of opium production this year as compared to 6,400 tons last year," UNODC regional representative Andrey Avetisyan,told reporters in Kabul.

The UNODC attributed the dramatic drop to better cooperation between enforcement agencies and Afghan policy makers. The low production can also be attributed to a reduction in area under cultivation, but more importantly to a drop in opium yield per hectare, according the findings of the survey.

Update: Survey Shows Decrease in Afghanistan Opium Poppy Cultivation -- AP

WNU Editor: The above BBC report claims there are one million addicts in Afghanistan, but I have read that the number is actually closer to two million. Either way .... this is a crisis that is under-reported in the West, and it is a scourge that I am sure that many are hoping will be eliminated one day.