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New UN Report Says Afghanistan Remains Top Opium Producer


Farmers score opium poppies during a harvest in Helmand Province.
Farmers score opium poppies during a harvest in Helmand Province.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says that Afghanistan continues to remain the world's top cultivator and producer of opium.

In its annual report, issued on June 26, the UNODC noted that Afghanistan produced 75 percent of the world's illicit production in 2012.

The report noted that plant diseases in Afghanistan have reduced global opium production by 30 percent compared to 2011.

This drop was significant because the poppy-cultivation area in the country jumped by 14 percent.

The report says that Afghanistan's drug industry affects more than 1 million people and the addiction rates in the Islamic state are on the rise.

Most of the country's opium is produced in the southern Helmand Province.

With reporting by BBC
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