Myanmar Overtakes Afghanistan As World's Biggest Opium Producer: UN

Myanmar produced an estimated 1,080 metric tonnes of opium -- essential for producing heroin -- this year (Credit: AFP)

Myanmar became the world's biggest producer of opium in 2023, overtaking Afghanistan after the Taliban government's crackdown on the trade, according to a United Nations report released on Tuesday.

Myanmar produced an estimated 1,080 metric tonnes of opium -- essential for producing heroin -- this year, according to the latest report by the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC).