UN says Afghan opium production increases for 3rd year in a row
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The United Nation says opium poppy cultivation will increase for a third year in a row and is heading for a record high.
The report issued Monday says cultivation is also dramatically increasing in areas of the southern Taliban heartland, especially in regions where thousands of U.S.-led coalition troops have been withdrawn or are in the process of departing.
The report says increased production is being driven by unusually high opium prices.
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Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium, the raw ingredient in heroin, and last year provided about 75 percent of the global crop — a figure that may spike to 90 percent this year due to increased cultivation.