Opium poppy farming hits 10-year high in war-torn Myanmar

Myanmar present the world’s main root of illicit opium pursuing diminution of poppy cultivation successful Afghanistan, the UN says.

Opium poppy cultivation successful Myanmar has deed a 10-year peak, with the harvest country expanding successful each increasing regions successful the war-scarred country, the United Nations says.

In its latest Myanmar opium survey, the UN Office connected Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recovered that poppy cultivation accrued by 17 percent compared with the erstwhile year, a leap from 45,200 hectares (about 111,700 acres) to 53,100 hectares (about 131,200 acres) of onshore increasing the illicit crop.

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The maturation “reaffirms Myanmar’s relation arsenic the world’s known main root of illicit opium, pursuing the continued decline of cultivation successful Afghanistan“, the UNODC said connected Wednesday.

“This large enlargement successful cultivation shows the grade to which the opium system has re-established itself implicit the past years – and points to imaginable further maturation successful the future,” said Delphine Schantz, UNODC’s typical for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

New study retired now!

The #Myanmar Opium Survey 2025 shows a 17% summation successful poppy cultivation compared to the erstwhile year.#Opium accumulation continues to turn and has reached a ten-year high.

Read the afloat study here: https://t.co/OQ9ensS8Vo pic.twitter.com/vTptwukxT2

— UNODC Southeast Asia-Pacific (@UNODC_SEAP) December 3, 2025

While the country of onshore nether poppy cultivation successful Myanmar accrued sizably betwixt 2024 and 2025, the magnitude of opium produced per hectare of poppy has not kept pace, according to the UNODC.

The discrepancy betwixt cultivation and accumulation of opium was owed to the country’s increasing instability, the UNODC said, wherever “intensifying struggle and insecurity” person made it progressively hard for farmers to support their crops and nutrient precocious yields of opium.

A cardinal origin successful the surge successful poppy farming successful Myanmar is the increasing terms of opium, which has much than doubled since 2019, erstwhile 1kg of caller opium outgo $145. Today, 1kg of opium costs $329 successful Myanmar, the UNODC said.

The UNODC study besides notes “emerging signs” of heroin flowing from Myanmar to planetary markets that were antecedently supplied by narcotics originating successful Afghanistan, informing of global request expanding for opiates originating successful the Southeast Asia portion owed to “heroin proviso shortages from Afghanistan”. Opium is processed to manufacture the highly addictive narcotic heroin.

According to the European Union’s Drugs Agency (EUDA), immoderate 60kg (132lbs) of heroin believed to person been manufactured successful and astir Myanmar was seized from commercialized hose passengers travelling to the EU from Thailand successful 2024 and aboriginal 2025.

“Driven by the intensifying conflict, the request to past and the lure of rising prices”, farmers successful Myanmar are being drawn to poppy cultivation, UNODC’s Schantz said.

“The summation we person seen successful the past twelvemonth volition person important implications for Myanmar’s future.”

“What happens successful the state volition signifier cause markets successful the portion and acold beyond, and requires urgent action,” she added.