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The business of opium in Myanmar

August 10, 2015

Although opium production is banned in Myanmar, farming of opium poppies has been increasing in recent years. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime it went up by 13 percent in 2013 alone, making Myanmar the second-largest producer of opium after Afghanistan.

https://p.dw.com/p/1Ent6

Ninety percent of the opium poppies are grown in Shan State, in the eastern part of the country, which is in the Golden Triangle on the borders with Laos and Thailand. Some 200,000 households live off of income from opium poppies. Growing mangos or avocados is no longer profitable, because transport costs have become too expensive.