War-wracked Myanmar is now the world’s top opium producer, surpassing Afghanistan, says UN agency

By GRANT PECK
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar, already wracked by a brutal civil war, has regained the unenviable title of world’s biggest opium producer. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said in a report released Tuesday that Myanmar’s output has topped that of Afghanistan, where the ruling Taliban imposed a ban on its production. The new UNODC report says opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar is expanding and becoming more productive. A UNODC representative said economic, security and governance disruptions that followed the Myanmar military’s February 2021 takeover has driven farmers in remote areas toward opium to make a living. Northeastern Myanmar is part of the infamous “Golden Triangle,” where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet and production of opium and heroin have historically flourished.