Myanmar has surpassed Afghanistan in opium cultivation, and opium crops in Myanmar have hit a 10-year high according to the Myanmar Opium Survey 2025, which states that poppy cultivation has risen by 17 per cent over the past year, from 45,200 hectares in 2024 to 53,100 hectares in 2025 — reversing a brief dip and confirming a steady upward trend since 2020, according to the reports.
The study is undertaken under the framework of the Mekong MOU on Drug Control, which UNODC actively supports through the Regional Programme, including the commitment to develop data and evidence as the basis for countries of the Mekong region to respond to challenges of drug production, trafficking and use. The study was made possible with financial support from the Governments of Japan and the United States of America.
“Myanmar stands at a critical moment,” said Delphine Schantz, the head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Opium, derived from poppies, is the naturally occurring primary active ingredient used in the production of heroin. The three main global sources of illegal opium are Afghanistan, Colombia and Myanmar.
The 2025 survey featured the largest sample size to date, with a total of 138 satellite imagery locations, 114 in Shan and 24 in Kachin. Of the 114 imagery locations in Shan State, 45 were in South Shan, 45 in East Shan and 24 in North Shan subregions.
Myanmar has been the world’s main source of illicit opium since the collapse of production in Afghanistan, where cultivation dropped by about 95 percent after a Taliban ban in 2023. Total opium output is estimated at around 1,010 metric tons in 2025 — more than double Afghanistan’s current level.
Yields declined most sharply in North Shan and Kachin, where fighting has intensified, displacing tens of thousands of civilians. Field reports indicate that some farmers are replanting old fields without crop rotation and struggling to obtain fertilizers, further reducing productivity.
Heroin flows shifting beyond Southeast Asia
The survey also points to signs that heroin originating in Myanmar is reaching markets previously supplied by Afghanistan. European drug authorities reported several seizures in 2024 and early 2025 of heroin believed to have been produced in and around Myanmar from airline passengers traveling from Thailand to Europe.
Beyond opiates, Myanmar also remains a major hub for synthetic drug production, including methamphetamine and ketamine, compounding what UNODC describes as a “highly challenging illicit drug situation” across Southeast Asia and beyond.
Opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar generally takes place in small, discreet plots located in remote and hard-to-reach areas, which makes assessment particularly difficult. To assess the scope of opium poppy cultivation and opium production in Myanmar, UNODC has been conducting opium surveys regularly in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar since 2002.
The reports also mention, for the first time, significant cultivation documented in the Sagaing region — believed to be the “epicentre” of Myanmar’s conflict since the 2021 military takeover — with 552 hectares under poppy and highlighting a growing shift toward the country’s insecure western border areas.
