Poppy fields creeping back; UN unfazed by slight upturn in opium output

The Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2008, released on Monday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) showed poppy cultivation in Thailand rose from 231 hectares (1,445 rai) in 2007 to 288 hectares last year.

Cultivation in Laos increased from 1,500 hectares to 1,600 hectares. In  Burma it rose from 27,000 hectares to 28,500 hectares over the same period. Overall cultivation increased 3.3 per cent in the three countries.

UNODC representative Gary Lewis said the increase in Thailand was minimal compared to other areas.