Opium yield halved in Afghanistan: UN
By IANSFriday, October 1, 2010
New York, Oct 1 (IANS/AKI) Afghanistan’s opium harvest was almost halved in 2010 as a widespread plant infestation took its toll on the war-torn country’s largest source of revenue, a UN report has said.
The total yield in 2010 was estimated at 3,600 tonnes, down 48 percent from 6,900 tonnes in 2009, according to the report released Thursday.
“This is good news but there is no room for false optimism; the market may again become lucrative for poppy-crop growers so we have to monitor the situation closely,” said Yury Fedotov, executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
The drop in production was primarily due to a plant infestation in the southern Helmand and Kandahar provinces, the report said.
Afghanistan annually produces 92 percent of the world’s opium.
