Opium poppy cultivation in war-torn Myanmar has surged to its highest level in a decade, rising 17 per cent in the past year as conflict and economic hardship push more farmers into the illicit trade, the United Nations said on Wednesday.
Poppy cultivation climbed to 53,100 hectares (131,000 acres) this year from 45,200 hectares in 2024, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report, underlining Myanmar’s position as the world’s main known source of illicit opium amid declining production in Afghanistan.
“Myanmar stands at a critical moment,” Delphine Schantz, UNODC representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement.
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“The major expansion in cultivation shows how far the opium economy has reestablished itself in recent years and indicates the potential for further growth in the future.”
Myanmar has been in political turmoil since the military seized power in a 2021 coup, ousting a civilian government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and sparking a nationwide armed resistance.
The ruling junta is now preparing for a widely criticised general election beginning on December 28, amid a raging civil war. A spokesman for the Myanmar junta did not respond to calls seeking comment.