• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released its Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2023.
• The report states that Myanmar is the world’s biggest opium producer.
• From 2022 to 2023, Myanmar saw an 18 per cent increase to one lakh 16 thousand acres in the amount of land used to grow the illicit crop and a 16 per cent rise in production.
• The Southeast Asian country’s opium output has topped that of Afghanistan where Taliban’s ban has led to a 95% drop in the cultivation of opium poppies in Afghanistan.
  • Opium, the base from which morphine and heroin are produced, is harvested from poppy flowers.
• Northeastern Myanmar is part of the infamous “Golden Triangle,” where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet.
  • On the other hand Golden Crescent comprises illicit opium production areas in Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

ABOUT UNODC

• It was established in 1997 through a merger between the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention.
  • It was renamed to its current name in 2002.
• It has 20 field offices covering over 150 countries.
• Headquarters- Vienna, Austria
• It is aimed at addressing the issues of illicit drug trafficking, drug abuse, prevention of crime and criminal justice, political corruption and international terrorism, in a coordinated and comprehensive manner.
• It is also the chief UN body for delivering legal and technical assistance to prevent terrorism.
• It relies on voluntary contributions, mainly from governments, to carry out the majority of its work.