Global cocaine production hits

Global cocaine production has risen to a record after declining during the coronavirus pandemic. A report From the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Between 2020 and 2021, cocaine production increased by 35 percent, the fastest annual increase since 2016, the report said.

This increase is due to a combination of the expansion of coca bush cultivation and improved techniques for making cocaine.

According to the UNODC, worldwide demand for cocaine has grown over the past decade, and while the main markets are in the US and Europe, there is “strong potential” for expansion in Asia and Africa.

“The increase in the global supply of cocaine should put us all on high alert,” UNODC Executive Director Ghada Wali said in a statement. “The potential for the cocaine market to expand in Africa and Asia is an alarming reality. I urge governments and others to scrutinize the report’s findings to ensure that awareness of this international threat continues to grow.” How can this be accomplished with escalation, prevention and international response at the international level. And regional cooperation.”

New cocaine-trafficking hubs are emerging in Southeast Europe and West and Central Africa, the report says, with North Sea ports such as Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg overtaking Europe’s traditional gateways in Spain and Portugal. Central American traffickers are also diversifying their routes by sending more cocaine to Europe.

Along with the increase in cocaine production, drug enforcement by law enforcement agencies has also reached record highs, with a record 2,000 tons of cocaine seized in 2021, the report said.

“It is my hope that this report will support evidence-based strategies that stay ahead of future developments in cocaine production, trafficking and use,” Angela May, head of the Research and Analysis Branch at UNODC, said in a statement. I said.