Myanmar has overtaken Afghanistan to become the world's largest producer of opium

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has announced that junta - ruled Myanmar has overtaken Afghanistan to become the world's largest producer of opium .

UNODC has shared data on drug production in countries in the region in its report "Opium Survey in Southeast Asia - 2023".

According to the report, Myanmar , which has been under military rule since February 2021 , has overtaken Afghanistan as the world's largest producer of opium after it was banned by the Taliban administration .

The area of cultivated land in Myanmar increased by 18 percent last year to 116,400 dekars (11,640 hectares).

Although the current cultivated area has not reached the 143,300 decares of 2013, the poppy area has been gradually expanding through steady growth in the last three years.

In November, the UNODC reported that poppy cultivation in Afghanistan had dropped by 95 percent following the Taliban ban. Opium, which is considered the main substance of morphine and heroin, is extracted from the pods of the poppy.