Opium production falls by a quarter in Myanmar: UN

BANGKOK, Dec 08, 2014 (AFP) - Opium production in Myanmar fell by nearly a quarter this year, the UN said Monday, but the world’s second largest poppy grower still faces a growing battle against drug use. Lower poppy yields, slumping "farm gate" prices and more effective eradication of opium fields have squeezed production to its lowest level in eight years, according to a UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report.

Production of dry opium is estimated to have dropped by 23 percent from last year to 670 tons, the study found. Dry opium is the resin from poppy seeds, which is later processed into heroin and sold to booming export markets, including China, or to domestic users.