Afghanistan opium poppy supply plummets 95% after Taliban ban - U.N

FILE PHOTO: An Afghan man walks through a poppy field in the Gereshk district of Helmand province, Afghanistan April 8, 2016. REUTERS/Abdul Malik/File Photo

(Reuters) - Opium poppy production in Afghanistan, previously the world's top supplier, has plummeted since the Taliban administration banned the cultivation of narcotics last year, a United Nations report said on Sunday.

The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said opium cultivation fell throughout the country to just 10,800 hectares (26,700 acres) in 2023 from 233,000 hectares the previous year, slashing supply by 95% to 333 tons.