AFGHAN POPPY CULTIVATION

Lower Prices Pave Way For Alternatives

The glut of poppy production has led to a depressed market for Afghan
growers.

Three-quarters of the worlds illegal opium supply is produced in
Afghanistan, an undesirable consequence of the fall of the Taliban.

Opium is the leading national crop grown by an estimated 1.7 million
Afghans, 7 percent of the country's population. It produced nearly $1
billion last year, about one quarter of Afghanistan's gross domestic
product.

Lured by the high prices paid by smugglers, Afghans turned to opium
rather than less profitable crops such as potatoes and vegetables.

But government officials say opium prices have dropped 65 percent this
year. Prices have gone from $750 a kilogram (2.2 pounds) to $350 a
kilogram in 2002 and $283 in 2003. This year it dropped to about $100
per kilogram.

In one province, tomatoes are now selling for more than
opium.

Besides being a source of illegal drugs worldwide, money from opium
production is used by the Taliban and other warlords resisting rule
from Kabul. Eliminating or reducing opium crops is important for the
stability of the central government.

The price drop could just be temporary. Economic development and a
government crackdown on opium cultivation will be needed to change
Afghan preferences in the long term. But it presents Afghan and
international leaders an opportunity to persuade some Afghans to turn
to alternative crops.