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Opium prices plummet reports UN anti-drug agency
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, on Thursday reported a sharp decline in the export value of Afghanistan's opium.
2009 UNODC Afghan Opium Survey
The UN anti-drug agency says there has been an 18% drop in the price of opiates since last year. Martin Nesirky, the Spokesperson for the Secretary General.
"The Office writes that the export value of opiates in that country declined from $3.4 billion in 2008 to $2.8 billion in 2009 - a fall that is equivalent to around a quarter of the country's gross domestic product. The decline can be attributed to lower opium cultivation, lower production, lower prices, and a relatively high GDP."
800,000 fewer Afghans are now involved in illegal drug trade since last year, says the UN report.
Opiates and other illegal narcotics have been used to fund insurgent groups, and have fuelled rampant corruption and crime in Afghanistan, weakening the process of building a State.
The UNODC Executive Director, Antonio Maria Costa, says success will only come when Afghanistan's farmers have sustainable livelihoods, when drug traffickers no longer operate with impunity, and when people no longer have to pay bribes for basic services.
Jocelyne Sambira, United Nations Radio
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