[Tlc] TL-opium

[justinm at ucr.edu]

FYI.
Thanks,
justin


2009-0202 - Bloomberg - Golden Triangle Opium Reduction Led by Thailand, Laos, UN Says

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=avf_22hNa9pM&refer=home

Golden Triangle Opium Reduction Led by Thailand, Laos, UN Says

By Michael Heath

Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Opium production fell in the Golden Triangle last year as Thailand and Laos slashed the amount of land being cultivated for the raw ingredient of heroin, the United Nations said. Myanmar, also in the area, remains a risk.

Southeast Asia accounted for 424 metric tons of opium, or about 5 percent of the world’s total production, down from 33 percent in 1998 and more than 50 percent in 1990, the UN Office of Drugs and Crime said in a report yesterday. Myanmar produced most of the drug as Thailand and Laos became almost opium-free.

“There is still too much opium in Myanmar, but progress over the past two decades has been impressive,” UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa said in the report.

The Golden Triangle, a remote mountainous territory where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet, is the biggest opium producing region after Afghanistan, which accounts for about 92 percent of global output. The UN warned that without international development the Golden Triangle’s economy may slip back into opium dependency.

“Rising opium prices may make it more attractive for farmers to revert back to opium cultivation, especially if no alternative sources of income are available,” Costa said.

While the prevalence of opium is diminishing in Southeast Asia, its drug problem isn’t, the UN said. The region has become a major hub for amphetamines and ecstasy production and urgent measures are required to halt synthetic drug manufacturing.

Opium Price

The price of Myanmar’s opium has also increased on reduced production and continued demand from China, Australia and other countries in the region, according to the report.

Myanmar’s opium production of 410 tons in 2008 was worth an estimated $123 million to farmers, providing a lucrative trade in a poor country, the UN said. The industry involves 840,000 people in the nation formerly known as Burma, where cultivation is concentrated in the Shan State, according to the report.

In Afghanistan, the UN forecast in a separate report a likely reduction in the amount of opium grown. It said the 18 drug-free provinces in 2008 will remain so this year and seven others in the unstable south will probably reduce cultivation, including the biggest opium-producing province of Helmand.

In the south and southwest, reduced opium cultivation is due to high wheat prices, low opium prices and low availability of water due to severe drought, the UN said.

The illicit drugs trade in Afghanistan helps fund the Taliban insurgency, according to the UN.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Heath in Sydney at mheath1 at bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: February 2, 2009 19:58 EST
__._,_.___


______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
3046 INTN
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu