Opium cultivation thrives in Asia's 'Golden Triangle'

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Opium cultivation thrives in Asia's 'Golden Triangle'

10 December 2014

Opium production in southeast Asia's "Golden Triangle" has tripled since 2006, fueling an illicit drugs trade worth $16.3 billion, a new United Nations report says.

Poppy cultivation in Myanmar and Laos stood at 63,800 hectares in 2014, compared with 61,200 hectares in 2013 -- increasing for an eighth year, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said in its Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2014.

The region produced approximately 762 tons of opium, which was most likely made into 76 tons of heroin, it said.

Myanmar accounts for the vast majority of the region's poppy cultivation. Production is particularly entrenched in the northern Shan State, near the Chinese border, where it's a staple part of the economy and helps fund rebel groups, the report added.

"Surveys of farmers indicate that, for many, the money made from poppy cultivation is an essential part of family income and support," said Yury Fedetov, the executive director of the United Nations on Drugs and Crime, said.

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