Opium poppy production in Afghanistan has plummeted since the de facto authorities imposed a drug ban last year, new UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) data reveals.

According to the Afghanistan Opium Survey 2023, released by the agency on Sunday, the supply of opium declined by an estimated 95 per cent, falling from 6,200 tons in 2022 to 333 tons in 2023, corresponding to a fall in the area under cultivation, from 233,000 hectares to just 10,800 hectares over the same period.