3 minutes agoCoca production in Colombia reaches record levels
Periskopi(8 years ago)
(8 years ago)Coca production in Colombia reached record levels in 2017, according to new statistics. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says production rose about 31% year-on-year to about 1,400 tonnes of cannabis cultivated to 171,000 hectares. The agency warned that narcotics production could harm efforts [...]
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says production rose about 31% year-on-year to about 1,400 tonnes of cannabis cultivated to 171,000 hectares.
The agency warned that the production of narcotics could undermine recent peace settlement efforts. Colombia is the world's largest cocaine producer, most of which ends up in the United States, which is the world's largest consumer.
Gloria Maria Borrero Restrepo, minister of justice and Colombia, called the data “really very disturbing”.
How produced?
According to the UNODC report, the cocaine production area in Colombia last year was the highest ever recorded level, increasing by 25,000 hectares from 2016.
The total area of land cultivated by narcotics was about 17% higher in 2017 than 2016.
The report said that possible cocaine production was worth $2.7 billion on the local market.
The UN said that the region at the border with the Pacific Ocean in Colombia is more intense.
The state of Narino bordering Ecuador has more agricultural land dedicated to cocaine than all of Peru, which is another major producer.
