Myanmar Opium Survey, 2019: Despite substantial drop in cultivation the Southeast Asian country remains a major source of illicit opium and heroin supply

Myanmar remains the major source of supply of opium and heroin in East, South and Southeast Asia as well as Australia even though the country has recorded substantial drop in illicit cultivation of opium poppy. The “Myanmar Opium Survey, 2019, Cultivation, production and implications” reveals that the area under opium poppy cultivation in 2019 was to the tune of 33,100 hectares. The figure was 37,300 hectares in 2018.

The survey, jointly conducted by United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and, the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Myanmar, also reveals that although cultivation of opium poppy has been stopped in some traditional poppy growing pockets, it started in new pockets adjacent to the traditional belts. The report of the survey was published in February this year.

Four Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram share the country’s land borders with Myanmar.

The Myanmar survey report states that area under opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar decreased by 11 per cent in comparison to 2018. “The national trend has been declining since 2014, when the total cultivation was estimated at 57,600 hectare, it says. The country has a total geographical area of 6,76,578 sq. kilometres.

The drop in production has been reported mostly in North Shan (7 per cent) East Shan (8 per cent) and South Shan state (17 per cent). However, in Kachin state, there has been an alarming increase in cultivation with 15 per cent from 2018, according to the survey.

Opium poppy cultivation and production in Myanmar in different regions during 2018 and 2019

In 2019, the field work, however, was carried out only in Shan State. In Kachin, the survey could not be conducted due to security issues, in Chin state and in Kayah state too, surveyed was not conducted due to budget constraints, the UNDOC survey report states.

“For the opium production calculation in Kachin State the 2015 yield estimate (12.5kg/ha) was used, similarly to the previous years’ surveys. The total potential production estimates for Chin and Kayah were calculated with the latest available (2018) cultivation estimates and the 2019 weighted national average yield”, it states.

Shan state alone account for 85 per cent of the total opium poppy cultivation area in Myanmar. In 2015, total opium poppy cultivation in Shan state was 50,300 hectare, according to the survey .

It states that in Myanmar Special Region 2, or Wa region produced the highest amount of opium poppy till 2005. However, it stopped production due to imposition of a ban in 2005. However, although it has been stopped in Wa region, the eastern part of North Shan that share border with Wa region, recorded the highest concentrations of poppy cultivation in 2019, according to the survey.

Photo courtesy -UNODC South Asia and Pacific https://www.unodc.org/southeastasiaandpacific/

“In Kachin State, the north-western zone of Tanai town and the area east from Myitkyina city next to the international border with China present some areas with very high cultivation density”, the UNODC survey states.

“In the past surveys, UNODC conducted risk assessments to the areas with opium poppy cultivation reported by local communities in order to establish the cultivation status of that area, for example, the assessment mission to Naga in three townships in Sagaing region during 2015 survey. In 2019, some local communities reported opium poppy cultivations in Putao and Sumprabum townships of Kachin where the past UNODC surveys in 2014 and 2015 observed insignificant cultivation in that areas. For such areas, an assessment is planned in order to establish the cultivation status in future surveys” it further says.

Some of the key findings of the Survey are :

• Eradication, as reported by the Government, showed a similar trend to opium poppy cultivation over the last nine years, with increases from 2010 to 2012-2014 and a decrease since 2015. The eradication numbers for the 2019 growing season (from September 2018 to March 2019) were 6% lower than for the same period in 2018.

• For the period January to September 2019, approximately 2,000 kg of seized opiates were reported; the total reported seizures for 2018 were 4,658 kg.

• With an estimated gross value ranging from 0.6 to 1.4 billion US$, the illegal opiate market in Myanmar represented a notable share of the country’s economy in 2019 (0.9 - 1.9% of the GDP in 2018).

• Of this total, 8 - 9%, corresponding to an estimated amount of 61 - 107 million US$, or 0.5% of the agricultural sector’s value2, were earned by farmers cultivating opium.

• The largest share of the 2019 opiate market value was income generated by heroin manufacturing and trafficking. Domestic heroin consumption of 6 tons was valued at 152 - 290 million US$, whereas the export of heroin (23 - 52 tons) was worth between 458 and 1,042 million US$.

The UNODC survey also states that not only the areas of opium cultivation dropped, but prices for fresh and dry opium too, has been declining more than 60 per cent between 2015 and 2019. The continuing drop in areas of cultivation as well as decline in prices also point out the decreasing demand for opiates produced in Myanmar for the regional drug market, it observes.

“According to our estimates, opium farmers make less than 10 per cent of money generated by the opiate economy in the country”, according to the report.

Despite the fall of demand in regional market, the involvement of huge amount of money in the process of drug trafficking by organised groups is still a major issue, it states.

“Domestic heroin consumption of 6 tons was valued at 152 - 290 million US$, whereas the export of heroin from Myanmar to neighbouring countries was worth around 1 billion US$ locally” it says.

The UNODC also observes that despite the drop in cultivation, the drug issue continues to be a serious public health and security issue as Myanmar still is still the major supplier of opium and heroine to countries of East Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia. The UNDOC estimates a total of 3 million heroine users in these regions, consuming about 10 billion US $ worth annually.

“Every year, hundreds of tons of opium are harvested in Myanmar and further commercialised. Opium can be either consumed as raw opium or further processed into heroin. Both raw opium and heroin reach the end-consumer markets in and outside Myanmar”, it states.

Estimated quantities of the different opiate market´s components

India, with four north-eastern states sharing international border with Myanmar, is a major consumer of opium. Illicit drug trafficking through these border areas is a major issue during recent periods.

A report titled “Magnitude of Substance Use in India, 2019”, published by the Ministry of Social Justice and empowerment, Government of India, has stated that about 0.70 per cent of Indians or nearly 77 lakh individuals are estimated to need help for their opioid use problems. It also states that a far higher proportion of Heroin users are dependent on opioids when compared with users of other opioids like Opium and Pharmaceutical Opioids.(http://(http://socialjustice.nic.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/Magnitude_Substance_Use_India_REPORT.pdf)

“Of the total estimated approximately 77 lakh problem opioid users (i.e. those using in harmful or dependent pattern) in the country, more than half are contributed by just a few states. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat are the states which house the highest number of people with opioid use problems. However, in terms of percentage of population affected, the top states in the country are those in the north east (Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur) along with Punjab, Haryana and Delhi,” it says.

Reported eradication in Myanmar (ha), 2007-2019

The UNDOC annual opium survey report states that in Myanmar the issue of illicit drug economy that have deep root with opium poppy cultivation, is also a major issue towards peace process and establishment of political stability in Myanmar.

“There is a connection between drugs and conflict in Myanmar, with the drug economy supporting the conflict and in turn the conflict facilitating the drug economy. Providing solutions to the conflict requires breaking this cycle. The influence of the drug economy can be mitigated through alternative development programmes that provide viable sources of legitimate income, as well as by addressing the threat of transnational organised crime groups that continue to produce and traffic heroin and that have significantly scaled-up the production of methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs for the regional drug market. Countering drug production and organised crime networks is vital for providing peace and security in Kachin and Shan” it states.

Seizure: in kilogram

“The annual opium survey report remains an essential tool for assessing the extent of opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar, as well as understanding changes in cultivation patterns and the links between drugs and the rural economy. This information is useful for understanding cultivation techniques, rural livelihoods and for designing effective alternative development options. It is also essential for supporting decision makers to develop effective strategies to sustain the transition from an illicit to a licit economy, and as a basis for understanding the connection between the drug economy and ongoing conflict”, according to the survey.

--Ratna Bharali Talukdar