§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What estimate they have made of the amount and value of Afghan narcotics production and export in the calendar year 2004. [HL3087]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanNo information is currently available for 2004.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) conducts an annual survey into the level of opium poppy cultivation and production in Afghanistan. The most recent survey, published in October 2003, showed that the level of opium cultivation in 2003 was 80,000 hectares and production was 3,600 tonnes.
Estimates of the size of the illegal drugs economy are that it is between 1.3 billion and 2 billion dollars, compared with a legal economy of 4 billion to 5 billion dollars. Some opiates are consumed in Afghanistan but the vast majority is exported.
The UNODC is in the process of assessing the 2004 harvest in conjunction with the Afghan Government. Its report will be published in the autumn.