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Afghanistan/South Asia |
Opium Cultivation Drops Sharply in Afghanistan |
2005-08-30 |
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Posted by:Fred |
#2 Hmmm.... looks suspicious alright. Just what are the opium poppy cultivation growth seasons in Afghanistan? Have the opium bulbs already been harvested? Maybe thats why cultivation is suddenly down? Does anybody out there know? This report is suspicious I agree. |
Posted by: Fun Dung Poo 2005-08-30 12:54 |
#1 Furthermore I doubt that anyone knows the real figures. This might be interesting http://www.unodc.org/pdf/WDR_2005/volume_2_chap5_opium.pdf But I don't believe this report! The figure look very dubious. In the begining of this year, the Afghanistan goverment stated that there would be a 30-50 percent reduction in cultivation this year. They may be covering up their failure with talk of a good harvest. The problem has grown dramatically in the past few years eg according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), opium cultivation in 2004 increased by 64%. It appears now that the price of raw opium is falling dramatically suggesting that production is exceeding demand. Anyway the CIA estimates that opium trade now accounts for one-third of GDP. |
Posted by: bernardz 2005-08-30 11:28 |