UN: Afghan opium production increased by eight percent in 2021 
compared to 2020. This is reported in a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
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To date, the opium crop in Afghanistan has reached 6.8 thousand tons. In 2021, approximately 320 tons of pure Afghan heroin were exported to the world market. It is clarified that today heroin from Afghanistan accounts for 80 percent of world opiate consumption, while in 2020 this figure reached 85 percent.
The UNODC report also notes an increase in profits from opium production from $ 1.8 billion in 2020 to $ 2.7 billion in 2021. Due to the instability caused by the coming to power of the Taliban ( a terrorist organization banned in Russia ), prices for opiates have also increased.
According to the department, this may push farmers to produce more more opium. “The current situation in Afghanistan requires urgent intervention by the international community. It is necessary, within the UN support of the Afghan people, to achieve a sustainable reduction in the illegal cultivation and production of drugs, “the report says.
In October, Andrei Serenko, an expert at the Center for the Study of Modern Afghanistan, told Lente.ru that the Taliban's coming to power only exacerbated the problem of drug trafficking. According to the specialist, terrorists encourage drug trafficking and collude with the Afghan mafia. After seizing control of Afghanistan, the Taliban returned the previously confiscated opium, heroin and hashish to the gangs.