Opium production in Afghanistan has risen fivefold in the space of a year, according to a survey released on 29 October 2026 by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), marking the first significant increase since the Taliban banned poppy cultivation in April 2022. The area planted with opium poppy grew by 330 per cent, reaching more than 43,000 hectares, up from about 10,000 hectares in 2025. Estimated production rose by 400 per cent, from about 300 tonnes to just under 1,500 tonnes.
Both figures nonetheless remain well below pre-ban levels, when some 232,000 hectares were under cultivation and Afghanistan accounted for around 80 per cent of global illicit opium supply.
UNODC found that many farmers appear to have adapted to evade enforcement. Some are hiding small plots within cereal fields or inside walled compounds, while others are planting and harvesting at staggered intervals to avoid detection. The Taliban's de facto authorities say they eradicated 22,000 hectares of poppy this year.
Cultivation spread to 16 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces — five more than the previous year — with three in every four hectares located in the northeast, which has now become the country's main growing area. Before the ban, most poppy was grown in the southwest. UNODC noted that large regional price differences may encourage trafficking from the northeast to the southwest. The farm-gate price dipped from $570 a kilogramme last year to $500, but remains far above pre-ban levels of under $100.
The survey also found that traffickers in the region appear to have relied on opium stockpiles to keep supplies moving since the ban was imposed, but recent seizure data suggest those stocks are running down. The 2026 World Drug Report identified early signs that heroin supplies in Europe are falling, and UNODC cautioned that with demand holding up and prices high, shrinking supplies could push cultivation in Afghanistan higher still.
"The fourfold increase in opium poppy cultivation shows the difficulty in sustaining decreases in illicit opium cultivation when poor farmers have no alternatives to feed their families," said UNODC Executive Director Monica Juma. She urged the de facto authorities and the international community to invest in livelihoods, farm infrastructure, and access to markets for farming communities.
Ms. Juma also called for broader collective action: "International cooperation is needed to investigate and dismantle transnational drug trafficking networks both in Afghanistan and the rest of the world." UNODC said continued monitoring would show whether this year's jump is temporary or the start of a resurgence in opium and heroin production.
This article is based on a primary source and has undergone editorial review prior to publication.
