Afghanistan is simply dominating the world poppy market.

From the Associated Press:

U.N. figures to be released in September are expected to show that Afghanistan’s poppy production has risen up to 15 percent since 2006 and that the country now accounts for 95 percent of the world’s total crop, 3 percentage points more than last year, according to officials familiar with preliminary data.

Poppy is the plant where opium is extracted from, which is then used to produce heroin.  The PBS show Wide Angle has a useful guide showing the process entitled Heroin Harvest: From Poppy to Heroin.

Havocscope is currently listing Afghanistan’s total market value of heroin to be $3.1 billion.

To learn more about the prices and market values of illegal drugs, please visit our Global Drug Trade page.