Afghanistan opium production jumps fivefold in a year, UN survey finds, the first rise since the Taliban ban

Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has jumped sharply for the first time since the Taliban banned it in 2022, according to a survey by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released on 29 October. The agency says the area planted rose by 330 per cent in a year, and estimated opium production by 400 per cent.

Published figures put the area under poppy at more than 43,000 hectares, up from about 10,000 hectares in 2025. Estimated production rose from about 300 tonnes to just under 1,500 tonnes, the UN reported. Both numbers remain far below the period before the ban, when some 232,000 hectares were under cultivation and Afghanistan supplied around 80 per cent of the world’s illicit opium.

How farmers evade the ban

The Taliban seized power in August 2021 and outlawed poppy cultivation and all narcotics in April 2022, citing religious grounds. The de facto authorities say they eradicated 22,000 hectares of poppy this year. UNODC, however, said that many farmers appear to have adapted to avoid enforcement: some hide small plots inside cereal fields or walled compounds, while others plant and harvest at staggered intervals to escape detection.

UNODC Executive Director Monica Juma said the increase “shows the difficulty in sustaining decreases in illicit opium cultivation when poor farmers have no alternatives to feed their families.” She urged the de facto authorities and the international community to work together to support farming communities through investment in livelihoods, farm infrastructure and access to markets.

Where the poppy is grown, and what it fetches

Cultivation spread to 16 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, five more than last year, and three of every four hectares were in the northeast, which is now the country’s main growing area. Before the ban most poppy was grown in the southwest. Prices dipped from $570 a kilogramme last year to $500, but remain far above the pre-ban level of under $100. UNODC said the large regional price differences could encourage trafficking from the northeast towards the southwest.

The agency also said traffickers in the region appear to have relied on opium stockpiles to keep supplies moving since the ban, and that indicators suggest those stocks are running down. It reported early signs that heroin supplies in Europe are falling. With demand holding up and prices high, UNODC said, shrinking supplies could push cultivation in Afghanistan higher still.

What UNODC says next

Ms Juma said international cooperation is needed to investigate and dismantle transnational drug trafficking networks in Afghanistan and the rest of the world. UNODC said continued monitoring would show whether this year’s jump is temporary or the start of a resurgence in opium and heroin production.

The finding lands as humanitarian agencies warn of a deepening crisis in the country. Geopolitiki reported earlier on the UN aid office’s warning in Afghanistan: UN aid office says nearly 16 million face crisis-level hunger and warns of a worse winter. The figures above are UNODC’s estimates as published by UN News; the Taliban authorities’ own eradication figure is as stated by them.