Written question asked by Mike Hancock (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 24 January 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 26 January 2006. It was answered by Kim Howells (Labour) on Tuesday, 31 January 2006 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Afghanistan

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of how much heroin was produced in Afghanistan in each of the last two years; how much of that was exported to the UK in each year; what estimates he has made of the levels so far in 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: In November 2005, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) confirmed the opium poppy cultivation and opium production figures for the 2004–05 season from their annual survey. They estimated that opium production was around 4,100 metric tonnes, a decrease of only 100 tonnes (2.4 per cent.) compared to 2004, despite a significant reduction in cultivation (a 21 per cent. reduction in poppy cultivation from 131,000 hectares in 2004 to 104,000 ha in 2005). Good weather and an absence of crop disease were responsible for the increase in yield in 2005.The UNODC publishes figures for global illicit cultivation of opium poppy and production of opium and heroin in its annual World Drugs Report. Full details can be found on their website http://www.unodc.org. According to the 2005 report, the potential heroin production for 2004 was estimated as 500 tonnes, if all the opium produced was converted to heroin. Figures for heroin production in 2005 in Afghanistan will not be available until the publication of the Report in June this year.We estimate that around 95 per cent. of heroin in the UK originates in Afghanistan.While the figures for heroin and opium production for this season (2005–06) in Afghanistan are unavailable until later this year, the UNODC will provide an early indication of 2005–06 cultivation trends in their Rapid Assessment Survey, which is due to be published next month.

Secondary information