<div><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The UN on Tuesday declared junta-ruled Myanmar as the world’s largest source of opium.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>According to UN Office on Drugs and Crime, opium cultivation in the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia “continued to expand over the past year, with a significant increase in Myanmar.”</div><div><br></div><div>In its latest report titled Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2023: Cultivation, Production and Implications, the UN Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific revealed that since the 2021 military takeover in Myanmar, opium cultivation grew by 18% from 40,100 to 47,100 hectares (99,000 to 116,000 acres).</div><div><br></div><div>“At 1,080 metric tons today, the potential yield is at its highest since 2001 … Myanmar now stands as the world’s largest source of opium,” it said.</div><div><br></div><div>“The economic, security and governance disruptions that followed the military takeover of February 2021 continue to drive farmers in remote areas towards opium to make a living,” UN regional representative Jeremy Douglas said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“The intensification of conflict in Shan (state) and other border areas is expected to accelerate this trend.” - Anadolu Agency&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>