UN: Afghanistan's opium production surged fivefold in one year

Afghanistan's opium production surged fivefold over the past year — the first significant jump since the Taliban's ban on opium poppy cultivation in 2022, according to a report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The area under opium poppy cultivation increased by 330% — from roughly 10,000 hectares in 2024 to more than 43,000 hectares. Production volume, according to the agency's estimates, grew by 400% — from approximately 300 to nearly 1,500 tonnes. Both figures remain significantly lower than pre-ban levels, when around 232,000 hectares were under poppy cultivation and Afghanistan accounted for roughly 80% of the world's illegal opium supply.

Poppies are now grown in 16 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces — five more than a year earlier. Three-quarters of the cultivated area is concentrated in the northeast, which has become the primary production region. Before the ban, the main crops were located in the southwest.

According to UNODC data, many farmers have learned to circumvent the ban: some hide small plots among grain fields or in walled-off courtyards, while others shift sowing and harvest times to make detection more difficult. Prices for raw opium have fallen from 570 to 500 dollars per kilogram, but remain significantly higher than pre-ban levels — less than 100 dollars. UNODC warns that the price difference between regions could stimulate smuggling from the northeast to the southwest.

The agency emphasized that further monitoring will show whether the current surge is a temporary phenomenon or marks the resumption of growth in opium and heroin production.