The coming to power in Afghanistan of representatives of the Taliban has led to a sharp increase in prices for opium and other drugs on the black market in the country, The Times of India reported.

According to it, the cost of opium in Afghanistan has tripled since August 15, when the Taliban took control of Kabul. Smugglers are now paying local opium producers $ 100 per kilogram, and on the black market in Europe the price of this drug exceeds $ 50 per gram.

The impact on the cost of Afghan drugs is exerted by weather conditions, the unstable situation in Afghanistan and the closure of external borders, the newspaper said.

However, the rise in prices for them is primarily attributed by opium producers and its buyers to the statement in August by the Taliban representative that the Taliban intend to start fighting drug trafficking in the country with international support.

This forced drug buyers in Afghanistan to prepare for an impending cut in opium production, the demand for which has increased, which has led to an increase in domestic prices for it, The Times of India added.

In 2000, when the Taliban were in power in Afghanistan, they banned the cultivation of opium poppy as prohibited by Islam and practically destroyed the crops of this crop. After the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 by an international coalition led by the United States, the cultivation of opium poppy in Afghanistan resumed and grew from year to year. According to the UN, in 2020 the country produced 6,300 tons of opium. Afghanistan's annual drug revenue was $ 2 billion.

The cultivation of opium poppy remains the only source of income for large numbers of Afghan farmers, and this has prompted the Taliban to be wary of radical plans to eradicate drug production in the country. To achieve this goal, Afghanistan will need broad international support, the prospects for which are still unclear.