UN Warns Myanmar Opium Cultivation Hits Highest Level in a Decade

Opium poppy farming in Myanmar has reached its highest level in a decade, rising 17 per cent in the past year, the United Nations has said.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime reported that cultivation increased from 45,200 to 53,100 hectares.

The agency said that this sharp increase cements Myanmar’s position as the world’s leading source of illicit opium, particularly as production in Afghanistan continues to decline.

Delphine Schantz, the UNODC representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said Myanmar had reached a «critical moment», warning that the rapid growth in cultivation shows how firmly the opium economy has re-established itself and the likelihood that it could expand even further.

Myanmar plunged into instability after the military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in a 2021 coup, triggering a widespread armed resistance movement and deepening economic hardship across the country.

The junta is now preparing a widely criticised general election set to begin on 28 December while fighting continues across large parts of the country.