Afghan opium supply plunges under Taliban

Opium poppy production has declined by 95% since the Taliban banned the crop in April 2022, decimating rural farming and compounding Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis


REGIONAL CHANGE IN OPIUM POPPY PRODUCTION
(Tonnes)
2022 2023

Northern
555 37

North-Eastern
181 60

Western
656 25

Central
38 6

Eastern
268 47

Southern
6 0.6

South-Western
4,496 158

Kabul
200km 125 miles


Farmers’ incomes have fallen by 92% in 2023, from $1.36bn to $110m


OPIUM POPPY CULTIVATION
2000-2023, Hectares, 000s

2001: Fall of Taliban

Aug 2021: Taliban retake power after withdrawal of U.S.-led forces

2023: Cultivation falls to 10,800 hectares, slashing supply by 95% from 6,200 to 333 tonnes


82 8  74 80 131 104 165 193 157 123 123 131 154 209 224 183 201 328 263 163 224 177 233
00 01 02 03 04  05  06  07  08  09  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23


Sources: UNODC Drugs Monitoring Platform Reuters 
Picture: Getty Images 
© GRAPHIC NEWS