Shrinking cocaine market
However, the global cocaine market appears to be “shrinking†despite top producer Colombia recently massively upping its output, the UN agency said.
Global coca cultivation fell by more than 30 percent between 1998 and 2014, due in part to national eradication efforts and alternative development programs for farmers.
In a study released last July, the UNODC said cultivation in Colombia had risen 44 percent in 2014 to 69,000 hectares (175,000 acres)—slightly over half of the global growth area, but still way below the peak levels reached two decades ago.
But the increase has so far not translated into more cocaine entering the global market, and consumption in both the US and Europe continues to drop, the latest report said.
The UNODC said the Colombian surge may have been linked to peace talks between the government and the FARC guerilla force.
It said the rebels were thought to encourage farmers to grow coca to then benefit from alternative development programs once a deal is reached.
The rebels, who were to sign a definitive ceasefire with the government later on Thursday, have previously said they would cut all ties to the cocaine trade, currently a major source of income. AFP
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