VOA新闻杂志2023--联合国称缅甸取代阿富汗成为世界最大鸦片生产国

UN: Myanmar Overtakes Afghanistan as World’s Top Opium¹ Producer

A United Nations report finds that Myanmar has overtaken Afghanistan as the world's top opium producer.

The change came after Myanmar expanded its opium production for a third year, the U.N. reported. In Afghanistan, production fell sharply in 2023 after the Taliban placed a ban on poppy farming.

The latest data on worldwide opium production was recently released in the U.N.'s report, the Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2023. The report was released by the U.N.'s Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The report estimates opium crops in Afghanistan dropped an estimated 95 percent in 2023 after the Taliban's ban and enforcement efforts.

During the same period, an increasing number of farmers in Myanmar turned to opium as a new crop. The increase in production follows a military takeover of the government in 2021 that pushed the country into a civil war. The situation has severely² hurt Myanmar's economy.

The U.N. report estimates poppy growth and processing in Myanmar grew 33 percent in 2022 and another 18 percent this year. That amounts to a total of 47,000 hectares. That is the most land Myanmar has used for opium production since 2013.

Jeremy Douglas is the area representative for the UNODC. He told VOA the country's economic and security situation have severely limited business possibilities and led more people to turn to opium farming to make money.

Most families in Myanmar make their living off the land. But a World Bank report released in May found that nearly half of farming families said they worry about having enough food. That number was up from 26 percent from a year earlier.

The UNODC estimates Myanmar's farmers grew enough poppy this year to produce up to 1,080 metric tons of dry opium. This amounted to total earnings³ of up to $2.5 billion. Most of this money is believed to have gone to traffickers shipping⁴ the product across Asia and as far as Australia, often as heroin⁵.

Most of that heroin flows through neighboring Thailand on its way to other places. In September, Thai police seized over 440 packs of heroin, along with some 15 million methamphetamine pills. A top Thai law enforcement official told VOA the $8.2 million drug seizure⁶ was the largest in the country's history.

The UNODC report notes Afghanistan's reduced opium production is expected to create a worldwide heroin shortage and drive prices higher. This is likely to lead even more farmers in Myanmar to start growing poppies.

Douglas said such a shortage could also result in more heroin processed in the Golden Triangle area making its way beyond the Asia-Pacific to Europe and North America. The Golden Triangle is a heavily criminalized area near the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. It is known for growing and producing large amounts of drugs.

Afghan heroin started taking over the European and North American markets from the Golden Triangle more than 10 years ago. That change came as drug controllers in Southeast Asia started dealing⁷ mostly in methamphetamine.

Douglas told VOA that even as Afghan production falls sharply, there is still large demand for opium on the world market. He said, "It's highly likely that we're going to start seeing Golden Triangle heroin returning to markets that it hasn't been in for quite some years."

Words in This Story

overtake – v. to catch up with and then pass by someone or something

1 opium   

n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的

参考例句：

• That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。

2 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

3 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

4 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

5 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

6 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。