It hardly happens that there is talk of opium cultivation and the name of Afghanistan does not come up. Afghanistan, which is counted among the world's largest opium producers, has been facing a continuous decline in recent years. But meanwhile, India's neighboring country Myanmar has quietly emerged as the world's new opium producing country.
This year, opium cultivation in Myanmar, which is caught in the fire of civil war, has broken the record of the last ten years. The latest report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) clearly shows that as instability, violence and poverty have increased in the country, farmers are returning to the only crop that gives them cash income, i.e. opium.
According to UNODC's Myanmar Opium Survey 2025, the area under opium cultivation increased by 17% to 53,100 hectares compared to 2024. This is the highest since 2015. Average yield in conflict-affected areas declined by 13%, but increased farming compensated for this. Total production increased by 1% to about 1,010 metric tons. The report shows that amid increasing poverty, civil war and security crisis in Myanmar, opium has become a safe cash crop for farmers.
The global illicit market declined drastically after the Taliban imposed a strict ban on opium production in Afghanistan in 2021. Afghanistan has traditionally been the largest source of heroin. Due to fall in production there, supply decreased and prices started touching the sky. Myanmar started filling this empty space rapidly. According to the report, there are indications of heroin reaching Europe from Myanmar, even if the quantity is still less, but this is a big glimpse of the changing map of the market.
1. Rising Prices: According to the latest report, the price of opium has reached $329 per kg. This is almost double the 2019 price ($145/kg). The size of the entire opium economy is estimated at $641 million to $1.05 billion, or more than 1% of the country's GDP.
2. Civil War and Insecurity: The conflict has increased since the military coup (2021). In many areas, farmers can only grow opium because other sources of stable income have ended, there is pressure from armed groups, and the government's grip is very weak.
3. History of the Golden Triangle: The Golden Triangle, the area bordering Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, has been the center of illegal drug trade for decades. A major part of the income of many ethnic armed groups here comes from this trade.
According to UNODC, Myanmar is number one in the world not only in opium but also in meth production. Meth is easy to make and is sent on a large scale to Asia Pacific countries in tablet and crystal form.
