Afghanistan, Nov. 6 -- Afghanistan's opium cultivation fell by 20% in 2025, but UNODC warned synthetic drug production and trafficking are rapidly expanding nationwide.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan dropped by 20% in 2025 compared with the previous year, marking a sharp contraction in the illicit crop sector, according to its report released on 6 November.
The total cultivated area declined to 10,200 hectares from 12,800 in 2024 - a fraction of the 232,000 hectares recorded in 2022 before the Taliban's nationwide ban. Opium production fell even faster, dropping 32% to an estimated 296 tons.
Farmers' income from opium plunged from $260 million to $134 million, as many swit...