Written question asked by Lord Hylton (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Triesman (Labour) on Thursday, 8 February 2007.

Afghanistan: Opium

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the reply by the Lord President (Baroness Amos) on 29 January (Official Report, col. 10), on what basis they estimate that the costs of producing morphine in Afghanistan would be eight times higher than comparable costs in Australia.

Answer: The production costs for the equivalent of 1 kilogram of morphine in 1999 in Australia was $56, compared to $450 in Afghanistan. Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan is extremely labour-intensive; in Australia, cultivation is a largely mechanised process. The production costs for Afghanistan include fertiliser (estimated at 250 kilograms of urea and 250 kilograms of diammonium phosphate per hectare at a cost of $200), oxen, at a rate of 10 days per hectare at a cost of $2 per day; and 350 labour days, including 200 days for harvesting, at an estimated wage rate of $6 per day); and 150 days for land preparation, sowing, weeding, field clearance and seed collection, at an estimated rate of $2.5 per day). It assumes opium production of around 40 kilograms per hectare and that 10 kilograms of opium are required to produce 1 kilogram of morphine equivalent. These figures are drawn from a variety of sources, including the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and consultancy work commissioned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The 1999 figures are the most up to date published by the INCB due to the commercially sensitive nature of the data.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 1749; 689 c147WA
Session: 2006-07
Related items: Afghanistan: Opium
Monday, 29 January 2007
Oral answers to questions
House of Lords; Afghanistan: Opium
Monday, 29 January 2007
Oral questions
House of Lords
Subjects: Crops Costs Drugs Production Afghanistan Opium Morphine
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk