DUSHANBE, January 27, 2010, Asia-Plus -- In 2009, the potential gross export value of Afghanistan''s opiates amounted to 2.8 billion U.S. dollars, Rustam Nazarov, director of the Drug Control Agency (DCA) under the President of Tajikistan, told reporters in Dushanbe today, referring to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Afghanistan Opium Survey 2009.

In 2009, opium production in Afghanistan fell by 17.7 percent to 6,900 tons (in 2008, opium production amounted to 7,700 tons), Tajik drug control chief said, noting that only 300 tons, or 4.3 percent, were destroyed or seized inside Afghanistan.

“Thus, 6,600 tons of opiates ready for export remain.  Since according to data of Afghan counternarcotic agency, there are more than 1 million drug dependent people in Afghanistan, there is no prize for guessing what part of this opium went to covering needs of the domestic market,” Nazarov noted.

Referring to the Afghanistan Opium Survey 2009, he noted that income per one hectare of opium last year was estimated at 3,600 U.S. dollars while income per one hectare of wheat was 1,200 U.S. dollars.  That is why Afghan farmers prefer to cultivate opium poppy, Nazarov said.

He also noted that opium and heroin prices fell in Afghanistan in 2009.  “In 2007, the price of one kilogram of raw opium fluctuated from US$70 to US$95 depending on its consistence, while in 2009, it fell to US$50-US$64,” said Nazarov, “The price of one kilogram of heroin last year fluctuated from US$2,200 to US$4,600, depending on its quality, which is several times fewer than in the previous years.”

He added that 28 joint operations carried out by DCA and Afghan special services in 2009 led to the seizure of 1,372 kilograms of drugs, including 224 kilograms of heroin and 121 kilograms of cannabis, as well as 3,500 kilograms of liquid opium.

In the meantime, UN Information Service reported on December 17, 2009 that the potential gross export value of Afghanistan''s opiates is down 18 per cent, from US$3.4 billion in 2008 to US$2.8 billion in 2009 - equivalent to around a quarter of the country''s GDP, down from a third last year.  The decline can be attributed to lower opium cultivation, lower production, lower prices, and relatively higher GDP.

The Survey confirms that market forces are moving against the Afghan drugs trade as lower revenues and excess production have put a damper on supply.  As already reported in September in the Summary Findings of this Survey, in 2009 opium cultivation in Afghanistan decreased by 22 per cent, and production fell by 10 per cent (to 6,900 tons).  The number of people involved in opium cultivation (1.6 million) has dropped by one third, and the number of poppy-free provinces is up from 18 to 20.