The United Nations has reported in a recent assessment that the price of one kilogram of opium in Afghanistan has increased tenfold compared to previous years. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) stated in its report that following the Taliban’s ban on opium cultivation, the price of this substance has sharply risen, reaching $750 per kilogram. The report also highlighted that synthetic drugs have increased, and the decline in opium cultivation has posed significant challenges to the livelihoods of ordinary farmers.
Meanwhile, sources indicate that senior Taliban officials are involved in the collection and storage of opium, and all major drug cartels are collaborating with them. Sources further confirm that currently, traffickers purchase and stockpile opium at prices ranging from 70,000 to 100,000 Afghanis per kilogram, depending on quality.
Last week, the UNODC published a report stating that following the Taliban’s ban on poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, the price of opium in the country has surged significantly, generating substantial profits for criminal groups. According to the report, in 2024, the price of one kilogram of opium in Afghanistan reached $750, representing a tenfold increase compared to 2022, when poppy cultivation was still permitted and the price stood at just $75 per kilogram.
Opium production in Afghanistan, once the world’s largest producer, has sharply declined in recent years, leading to a significant price surge. The UNODC stated: “Despite reduced trade volume, the high price per kilogram of opium generates substantial profits, primarily benefiting traders and exporters linked to organized crime networks.” The report noted that by the end of 2022, Afghanistan’s opium reserves reached approximately 13,200 metric tons, primarily stored by major drug traders and exporters. According to the UNODC, these reserves could sustain the global market demand for Afghan opium until 2027.
The report further stated that around 60% of the reserves are likely controlled by large drug traders and exporters, while another 30% is held by farmers with “small to medium” reserves. According to the report, ordinary farmers who previously cultivated opium are now likely facing severe financial difficulties. The persistent shortage of opium may push buyers and sellers toward alternative substances, potentially more harmful than heroin.
Ghada Fathi Waly, Executive Director of the UNODC, stated: “The rising price of opium and its significant reserves indicate that drug trafficking in Afghanistan remains a highly profitable illegal trade.” She added that drug trade operations run by international organized crime groups have destabilized “Afghanistan, the region, and beyond.” Waly also called for the formulation of a strategy to crack down on drug trafficking networks.
She emphasized the need for investment in improving Afghan farmers’ livelihoods to discourage them from cultivating poppy. “There is an urgent need for sustainable economic alternatives to deter them [farmers] from resorting to poppy cultivation, especially now that opium prices are soaring,” she added. The report warned that reduced opium cultivation could drive drug buyers toward more harmful alternatives, such as synthetic drugs like fentanyl.
Meanwhile, sources familiar with the situation told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the price and smuggling of opium have skyrocketed, and senior Taliban officials are part of the drug mafia, selling their large opium stockpiles at high prices.
An informed source stated that drug traffickers linked to the Taliban previously purchased opium for around 7,000 to 8,000 Afghanis per kilogram. However, these traffickers now buy and stockpile each kilogram of opium for 70,000 to 100,000 Afghanis, depending on quality. According to these sources, many traffickers are stockpiling drugs, anticipating further price hikes.
Sources also revealed that a powerful drug mafia operates behind the stockpiling of narcotics, and the trade of opium has intensified. It is reported that each trafficker holds stockpiles ranging from “two to ten kharwars” (traditional units of weight, where one equals 300 kgs). These traffickers, in collusion with the Taliban, smuggle narcotics to Iran. Occasionally, due to coordination failures between the parties and Iranian police, traffickers are apprehended and the issue gains media attention. Otherwise, the operation continues as planned.
Previously, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry claimed that on March 4, 2025, it had seized 6,299 kilograms of opium in Taloqan, the capital of Takhar province. Meanwhile, sources in Badakhshan province reported that major drug traffickers freely travel to districts and areas where opium is cultivated, purchasing and transporting it to Helmand and Kandahar. According to these sources, no Taliban officials in Badakhshan have been able to prevent large-scale drug trafficking activities, and they themselves are involved.
Additionally, the Drug Control Agency of Tajikistan previously stated that despite the Taliban’s claims of banning drug production in Afghanistan, the level of drug smuggling from Afghanistan to Tajikistan has not decreased. The agency reported that laboratories have been set up in Afghanistan to produce narcotics, which are then trafficked to Tajikistan and other countries.
Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban Supreme Leader, issued a decree on April 3, 2022, banning poppy cultivation. According to his order, the use, transportation, purchase, sale, import, export, and operation of factories producing any type of narcotics were strictly prohibited.
You can read the Persian version of this daily report here:
افزایش قاچاق و بهای بلند تریاک؛ همدستی طالبان با باندهای مافیایی | روزنامه ۸صبح
