Myanmar continues to be the world's top source of opium and heroin, according to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Despite a slight decrease in cultivation area in 2024, the country’s deepening economic crisis and political instability are fueling its dependence on the illicit drug trade, with far-reaching consequences for both its own economy and regional security.
The UNODC’s Myanmar Opium Survey 2024 reveals that opium cultivation covered approximately 45,200 hectares in 2024, a 4% drop from the previous year. However, the reduction is minor and does not represent any meaningful reversal in trend. Myanmar still produces over 90% of all opium in Southeast Asia, and its heroin exports continue to flood markets in neighboring countries and beyond.
Shan State remains the epicenter of opium production, accounting for 88% of total cultivation. The survey also noted increases in cultivation in Chin and Kayah states, while Kachin saw a marginal decline. These shifts highlight how illicit agriculture is moving in response to conflict zones and weak governance.
With Myanmar’s GDP shrinking and formal economic channels collapsing under the weight of post-coup instability, the drug trade has emerged as a parallel economy, one that is no longer just a criminal enterprise, but increasingly interlinked with the country’s financial survival.
According to analysts, a significant portion of Myanmar’s unregulated rural economy is now driven by narcotics. In Shan, Kachin, and Kayah states, many farmers see opium as their only means of survival. The farm-gate price for raw opium has dropped to around USD 304 per kilogram, but the profitability still surpasses most legal crops, especially in conflict-affected areas with no infrastructure or market access.
"Drugs are now a critical part of Myanmar’s economic reality,” said UNODC Regional Representative Masood Karimipour. “As the legal economy contracts, the illegal one grows in strength.”
The rise in drug production is creating massive regional challenges. Thailand, Laos, India, Bangladesh, and China have all reported increased trafficking activities through their porous borders with Myanmar. Heroin and methamphetamine flows have surged, straining law enforcement and public health systems.
Thailand’s anti-narcotics bureau recently reported record seizures of heroin in northern provinces bordering Myanmar, while Indian authorities in Manipur and Mizoram have flagged growing shipments of narcotics linked to Myanmar-based networks. Bangladesh, already overwhelmed with over a million Rohingya refugees, now faces new challenges as drugs like ya ba (methamphetamine pills) enter through its southeastern borders.
China, once a key partner in regional anti-drug cooperation, has raised alarm over escalating heroin inflows via Yunnan province. The drug crisis is also fueling corruption, organized crime, and violence along Myanmar’s frontiers.
Many of Myanmar’s armed ethnic groups, particularly in the Golden Triangle region, are believed to be profiting from drug trafficking. In the absence of central government control, these groups use drug revenue to fund weapons purchases and expand territorial control. The military junta, struggling to retain legitimacy and resources, has been accused by civil society groups of turning a blind eye to narcotics in territories where it seeks tactical advantage.
This dynamic has led experts to warn that drug production is now entangled with the political economy of Myanmar's ongoing civil war, making peace and economic reform even more difficult.
The UNODC report calls for urgent and integrated international action, not only to combat drug trafficking, but to offer alternative development and livelihood options in opium-growing regions. It emphasizes that forced eradication of crops, without economic support or stability, only deepens the cycle of poverty and insurgency.
"Addressing Myanmar’s drug crisis is not just about interdiction,” Karimipour said. “It’s about peace, governance, and development. If we fail to act, the consequences will reverberate far beyond Myanmar’s borders.”
As Afghanistan’s opium production has plummeted due to the Taliban’s national ban, international traffickers are increasingly turning to Myanmar to meet global demand. This shift risks making the country the undisputed global hub for heroin and a rising power in synthetic drug production.
Myanmar’s status as the world’s leading source of opium and heroin is no longer just a criminal issue, it is a reflection of state failure, economic desperation, and geopolitical neglect. Unless the international community acts swiftly with a coordinated and humane strategy, the narcotics crisis will only escalate, with consequences for millions across South and Southeast Asia.
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