Afghanistan's opium poppy cultivation area to decrease by 20% by 2025

(CLO) The area under opium cultivation in Afghanistan has decreased by 20% in 2025, marking the next reduction after the Taliban ban.

The total area of ​​opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has shrunk by 20% this year, according to a United Nations (UN) estimate released on Thursday.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said its annual survey of opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan – the dominant global producer – recorded an even steeper decline in harvests, down an estimated 32% to 296 tonnes.

Afghans and opium. Photo: CC/Breitbart

The 20% decline in cultivated area follows a 19% increase in 2024. These fluctuations are only a fraction of the sharp decline in 2023, after the Taliban announced a ban on drug production in 2022.

“The total area under opium poppy cultivation in 2025 is estimated at 10,200 hectares, 20% lower than in 2024 (12,800 hectares) and only a fraction of the pre-ban level recorded in 2022, when an estimated 232,000 hectares were cultivated nationwide,” UNODC said in a statement.

Meanwhile, despite smaller harvests, dry opium prices fell 27 percent to $570 per kilogram, the agency added.

That “suggests a change in market dynamics and could trigger an increase in illicit opium cultivation efforts in other countries,” the UNODC warned.

Source: https://congluan.vn/dien-tich-trong-cay-thuoc-phien-tai-afghanistan-giam-20-trong-2025-10316841.html