Opium galore in the north

Drugs

Opium galore in the north

There is no denying that opium output in the north has soared high again after a 3-consecutive forced abstinence imposed by the ousted spy chief Gen Khin Nyunt, reports Hawkeye from Northern Shan State:

Hundreds of bags of chicken manure were seen on the road sides, in full view of passers-by, in Hsenwi and Kunlong where extensive fields were reported during the growing season. By harvest time in February and March, thousands of outsiders were swarming into the townships of Lashio, Tangyan, Hsenwi, Kunlong, Kutkhai, Muse and Namkham, offering their services to collect the opium sap. "Since last year, opium prices have risen," said a businessman who is visiting the border. "So are the wages."

The prices, 450,000 - 550,000 kyat ($ 450 - 550) per joy (1.6 kg) in April last year went up to as much as 1,000,000 ($ 1,000) at the end of the year. It is now steadying itself at around 800,000 kyat ($ 800).

Down south along the Thai border, it is 13,000 baht ($ 325).

Accordingly, the hired laborers, who used to be paid 1,000 -1,200 kyat ($ 1-1.2) per day last year were now receiving 1,500 - 2,000 ($ 1.5 - 2) plus three free meals a day.

In Namkham's Panhsay tract, where villages under the protection of militia leader Kyaw Myint, 45, had been spared region wide crackdown in the past, the acreage had increased by at least 30% this season. "Each household that had been working at 2 acres last year was now doing 3 acres on the average," said a local farmer. "Also, the yield had been good: 4 joy per acre compared to 2.5 joy per acre last year when the fields suffered heavily from drought."

A local businessman who also had his own poppy field estimates the total output at a minimum of 4 tons in Panhsay tract alone, twice as much as it was last year.

Also, unlike most surrounding areas, farmers in Panghsay enjoy the advantage of not having to bother about local Burmese officials coming in to collect taxes. "It is taken care of by Kyaw Myint, who knows the regional commander (Maj Gen Myint Hlaing) well," he declared.

Apart from the weather, the increase has been attributed to the countrywide clamp down on pro-Khin Nyunt elements that began last October.