Afghanistan Peace Campaign
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has reported a significant rise in the price of opium, reaching $750 per kilogram in 2024, ten times more than in 2022. Despite a reduction in production, high prices continue to benefit major drug traffickers.
According to the UN, the reduction in drug production following the Taliban’s ban on opium led to a decrease in heroin and opium trafficking, with seizures of these substances dropping by about 50% since 2021.
The UNODC stated that the high price per kilogram still generates large profits, mainly benefiting high-level traders and exporters within organized criminal groups.
The UN’s report estimated Afghanistan’s opium stockpiles at approximately 13,200 tons by the end of 2022, enough to meet demand for Afghanistan’s opium until 2027.
Ghada Waly, Executive Director of the UNODC, emphasized that the rising price of opium and substantial reserves indicate that drug trafficking in Afghanistan remains a highly profitable illegal business.
Waly added that the profits from drug trafficking flow to transnational organized crime groups, contributing to instability in Afghanistan, the region, and beyond. Addressing this issue requires a coordinated strategy that targets trafficking networks while investing in sustainable economic alternatives for farmers.
The UN highlighted that before the reduction in poppy cultivation, Afghanistan’s opium reserves could have been worth between $4.6 billion and $5.9 billion, representing 23-29% of the country’s GDP in 2023. This could help mitigate some of Afghanistan’s economic problems following the Taliban’s return to power.