Global cocaine record broken again | Police seizures stagnate
July 4, 2024

Global cocaine record broken again | Police seizures stagnate
Global cocaine production has increased for the fifth consecutive year. According to the latest available figures from the UNODC, estimated cocaine production increased by 20% between 2021 and 2022. This is according to the (annual) World Drug Report published this week .


2,700 tons
According to the UNODC, more than 2,700 tons of cocaine were produced in 2022, a record (2,304 tons in 2021). The number of hectares planted with coca bushes also increased between 2021 and 2022: from 315,500 hectares to 355,000 hectares.

The number of tons of cocaine seized by law enforcement agencies has fallen slightly, from 2,026 tons in 2021 to just over 2,000 tons in 2022.


Seizures
The number of kilos seized by law enforcement agencies is stable in absolute terms, but has improved in relative terms. In 2021, some 56% of total production was seized in 2021, while in 2022 this rose to 75%.

These percentages fluctuated between 55% (in 2007) and 82% (in 2015) in the period between 2007 and 2022.

Wholesale prices for a kilo of cocaine have fallen slightly over the same period, so that – globally – they appear to be more related to average increases in production than to police intervention.

Cocaine use in Southern and Central Europe is rising according to the UN, while the market in North America is shrinking. Cocaine use in Asian countries and Australia and New Zealand is also steadily increasing.

Golden Triangle
The UNODC expresses concern in the World Drug Report about the increase in the cultivation of opium in the border area between Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, traditionally called the Golden Triangle. The production of heroin (from opium) in Afghanistan has decreased by three quarters due to intervention by the Taliban regime.

The Golden Triangle is also seeing a sharp increase in methamphetamine production.

Worldwide, ecstasy use has declined, but in several European countries there were slightly more users in 2022.

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/world-drug-report-2024.html

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