Afghanistan's poppy economy swells despite war
Source: Agencies |
October 12, 2011, Wednesday
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THE poppy economy in Afghanistan, which provides a financial lifeline for insurgents in the war-torn country, has grown significantly this year, with soaring prices and expanded cultivation, according to a report published yesterday.
Land under poppy cultivation in 2011 climbed 7 percent from 2010 as farmers sought to capitalize on a sharp rise in opium prices caused by an unidentified disease last year, according to a joint report by the United Nations drugs agency and Afghanistan's counter-narcotics ministry.
Three provinces in the north and east of the country that had been declared "poppy-free" have returned to production, it said, and the increase came even though crop eradication was 65 percent higher than a year ago, and took place in 18 provinces, up from 11 in 2010.
Jean-Luc Lemahieu, the Afghanistan country head for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, estimated militants may rake in up to US$700 million from opium this year.
"In 2011, farmers made US$1.4 billion, so, potentially, insurgents this year are receiving US$700 million," he said. "I will let you calculate how much will go to corruption within the economy."
The figure is based on the profit-share model of the last decade, in which insurgents received 10 percent and farmers 20 percent of profits. The rest is unaccounted for.
If the initial numbers are right, the size of the poppy economy in Afghanistan this year is about US$7 billion.
Afghanistan's gross domestic product, excluding the poppy economy, is US$16 billion, according to official data.
Opium prices in Afghanistan more than doubled last year after production was cut due to disease, and farmers netted US$10,700 per hectare of poppies cultivated, 118 percent more than a year earlier.
About 95 percent of poppy growth is concentrated in the south and west, the country's most insecure regions, confirming a "direct link" between poppy cultivation and the Taliban-led insurgency, according to the report.
Afghanistan is the world's leading suppliers of opium - providing about 90 percent of global output.
Land under poppy cultivation in 2011 climbed 7 percent from 2010 as farmers sought to capitalize on a sharp rise in opium prices caused by an unidentified disease last year, according to a joint report by the United Nations drugs agency and Afghanistan's counter-narcotics ministry.
Three provinces in the north and east of the country that had been declared "poppy-free" have returned to production, it said, and the increase came even though crop eradication was 65 percent higher than a year ago, and took place in 18 provinces, up from 11 in 2010.
Jean-Luc Lemahieu, the Afghanistan country head for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, estimated militants may rake in up to US$700 million from opium this year.
"In 2011, farmers made US$1.4 billion, so, potentially, insurgents this year are receiving US$700 million," he said. "I will let you calculate how much will go to corruption within the economy."
The figure is based on the profit-share model of the last decade, in which insurgents received 10 percent and farmers 20 percent of profits. The rest is unaccounted for.
If the initial numbers are right, the size of the poppy economy in Afghanistan this year is about US$7 billion.
Afghanistan's gross domestic product, excluding the poppy economy, is US$16 billion, according to official data.
Opium prices in Afghanistan more than doubled last year after production was cut due to disease, and farmers netted US$10,700 per hectare of poppies cultivated, 118 percent more than a year earlier.
About 95 percent of poppy growth is concentrated in the south and west, the country's most insecure regions, confirming a "direct link" between poppy cultivation and the Taliban-led insurgency, according to the report.
Afghanistan is the world's leading suppliers of opium - providing about 90 percent of global output.
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