UN:
Afghan Opium Output Falls
The
United Nations has announced that the production of
opium in Afghanistan dropped by 10 per cent in 2008.
According to the UN report, in the
Taliban-controlled Helmand province the amount of
farmland used for growing opium has dropped by a
third.
Helmand province is responsible for 70 per cent of
the country's poppy cultivation.
Warnings
However, the 2009 Afghan Opium
Survey also warned that farmers are improving their
production techniques, allowing them to extract more
opium per hectare of poppies.
Afghanistan is the largest opium market in the
world, with a drug industry worth 3.6 billion US
dollars a year.
Panos/ Qasim / Austeen