As a source of opium narcotics the near East (Table 4) constitutes an area of major importance for the United States and Europe. Leaving aside the relatively small production of Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, the principal near Eastern sources of opium are Iran and Turkey. Both Iran and Turkey have an economic interest in opium, but their Governments have adopted a policy of severely restricting production. Iran had a production capacity in 1955 of some 700-1200 tons annually. In a determined attack on the drug addiction problem which involved some 2 million addicts, the Iran Government took the unilateral step of prohibiting opium production by Act of Parliament in 1958. This measure inevitably created economic hardship among the peasant growers, and encouraged "tolerated" cultivation. During the course of the last 12 years the Iran Government realised that unilateral action was not enough. Illicit opium produced by other countries found its way into the country in increasing quantities from Turkey and Afghanistan, over the Eastern and Western borders.
This was aggravating Iran's domestic drug problem and causing a serious drain on her balance of payments. Faced with this situation, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the U.N. Commission in January 1969 that the 1958 Act would be amended, until Iran's neighbours took steps to prohibit cultivation of the poppy. Controlled production by Iran was resumed at
a figure of about 200 tons (1971).
Turkey is the major opium producing country in the near East. According to Turkish Government sources official production in 1955 amounted to 400 tons, corresponding to an area of poppy cultivation of some 25,000 hectares. These figures provide some indication of the minimum production capacity of the country, and illustrate the dependence of the Turkish economy on opium. Since 1955 the Turkish Government has attempted to strengthen its narcotic control administration by progressively reducing and centralising its growing areas, and introducing a system of official licensing as required by the 1961 Convention. As a result of these measures Turkish official production of opium dropped sharply to some 80,000 kg. Since 1964 increasing yields of opium harvest have been obtained on the reduced area under cultivation (Table 4) and the Turkish production reached a figure of 122,258 kg (some 120 tons) in 1968.
Opium is not officially produced in Afghanistan, but illicit traffic from the country is a source of concern. Much of this opium appears to be of domestic origin. Considerable areas under poppy cultivation exist in the N.E. part of the country in Badakhshan, and around Mazar-i-Sharif. Opium is also produced in Kandahar. The border territories, notably Soviet Badakshan, Wakhan and the Pakistan Tribal areas provide additional sources of opium flowing into Afghanistan. Opium travels south to Kabul and on to Kandahar, whence it is distributed through the western towns of Farah and Herat. Opium fetches between 20-30% per kilogram in Afghanistan. A conservative estimate of the total area under poppy cultivation within the country is about 20 sq. miles (5,200 hectares) At an average yield of not exceeding 5 kilos of opium per hectare, based on primitive farming, this would provide an annual output of 26,000 kilos of opium worth more than $500,000.
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