UN: 95% reduction in poppy production in Afghanistan has transformed the global opioid market
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) announced in its World Drug Report 2026 that opium poppy production in Afghanistan has decreased by 95 percent since 2023, and this unprecedented reduction has had a significant impact on the global opioid market.
According to the report, the decline in production in Afghanistan has caused global heroin supplies to gradually decline, and drug trafficking networks are looking for alternatives such as synthetic opiates, including fentanyl, nitazine, and morphine.
The United Nations has emphasized that increased opium production in countries such as Myanmar, Laos, and Mexico has failed to offset the decline in production in Afghanistan, a country that produced more than six thousand tons of opium in 2022 alone.
The report warns that continuing this trend could change global patterns of production, trafficking and consumption of opioids, with far-reaching implications for public health, international security and the fight against organized crime.
