双语新闻：联合国:缅甸取代阿富汗成为世界最大鸦片生产国

A United Nations report finds that Myanmar has overtaken Afghanistan as the world's top opium producer.

联合国的一份报告发现，缅甸已经取代阿富汗成为世界上最大的鸦片生产国。

The change came after Myanmar expanded its opium production for a third year, the U.N. reported. In Afghanistan, production fell sharply in 2023 after the Taliban placed a ban on poppy farming.

联合国报道称，这一变化发生在缅甸连续第三年扩大鸦片生产之后。在阿富汗，塔利班禁止罂粟种植后，2023年罂粟产量急剧下降。

The latest data on worldwide opium production was recently released in the U.N.'s report, the Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2023. The report was released by the U.N.'s Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

联合国最近公布了全球鸦片生产的最新数据这份名为《2023年东南亚鸦片调查》的报告。这份报告由联合国发布联合国毒品和犯罪问题办公室(UNODC)。

The report estimates opium crops in Afghanistan dropped an estimated 95 percent in 2023 after the Taliban's ban and enforcement efforts.

该报告估计，在塔利班的禁令和执法努力之后，阿富汗的鸦片作物在2023年下降了大约95%。

During the same period, an increasing number of farmers in Myanmar turned to opium as a new crop. The increase in production follows a military takeover of the government in 2021 that pushed the country into a civil war. The situation has severely hurt Myanmar's economy.

在同一时期，缅甸越来越多的农民将鸦片作为一种新的作物。在产量增加之前，2021年军方接管了政府，导致该国陷入内战。这种情况严重损害了缅甸的经济。

The U.N. report estimates poppy growth and processing in Myanmar grew 33 percent in 2022 and another 18 percent this year. That amounts to a total of 47,000 hectares. That is the most land Myanmar has used for opium production since 2013.

联合国的报告估计，缅甸的罂粟种植和加工在2022年增长了33%，今年又增长了18%。总计47000公顷。这是自2013年以来缅甸用于鸦片生产的最多土地。

Jeremy Douglas is the area representative for the UNODC. He told VOA the country's economic and security situation have severely limited business possibilities and led more people to turn to opium farming to make money.

杰里米·道格拉斯是联合国毒品和犯罪问题办公室的地区代表。他对美国之音说，阿富汗的经济和安全形势严重限制了商业机会，导致更多的人转向种植鸦片来赚钱。

Most families in Myanmar make their living off the land. But a World Bank report released in May found that nearly half of farming families said they worry about having enough food. That number was up from 26 percent from a year earlier.

缅甸大多数家庭靠土地为生。但世界银行5月份发布的一份报告发现，近一半的农业家庭表示，他们担心没有足够的食物。这一数字比一年前的26%有所上升。

The UNODC estimates Myanmar's farmers grew enough poppy this year to produce up to 1,080 metric tons of dry opium. This amounted to total earnings of up to $2.5 billion. Most of this money is believed to have gone to traffickers shipping the product across Asia and as far as Australia, often as heroin.

联合国毒品和犯罪问题办公室估计，缅甸农民今年种植的罂粟足以生产多达1080公吨的干鸦片。这相当于总收入达25亿美元。据信，这些钱中的大部分都流入了贩运者手中，他们将产品运往亚洲各地，甚至远至澳大利亚，通常是海洛因。

Most of that heroin flows through neighboring Thailand on its way to other places. In September, Thai police seized over 440 packs of heroin, along with some 15 million methamphetamine pills. A top Thai law enforcement official told VOA the $8.2 million drug seizure was the largest in the country's history.

大部分海洛因通过邻国泰国运往其他地方。今年9月，泰国警方缴获了440多包海洛因，以及大约1500万颗甲基苯丙胺药丸。泰国一名高级执法官员对美国之音说，查获的820万美元毒品是泰国历史上最大的一次。

The UNODC report notes Afghanistan's reduced opium production is expected to create a worldwide heroin shortage and drive prices higher. This is likely to lead even more farmers in Myanmar to start growing poppies.

联合国毒品和犯罪问题办公室的报告指出，阿富汗鸦片产量的减少预计将造成全球海洛因短缺，并推高价格。这可能会导致更多的缅甸农民开始种植罂粟。

Douglas said such a shortage could also result in more heroin processed in the Golden Triangle area making its way beyond the Asia-Pacific to Europe and North America. The Golden Triangle is a heavily criminalized area near the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. It is known for growing and producing large amounts of drugs.

道格拉斯说，这种短缺还可能导致更多的海洛因在金三角地区加工，从亚太地区运往欧洲和北美。金三角是缅甸、老挝和泰国边境附近的一个犯罪严重的地区。它以种植和生产大量毒品而闻名。

Afghan heroin started taking over the European and North American markets from the Golden Triangle more than 10 years ago. That change came as drug controllers in Southeast Asia started dealing mostly in methamphetamine.

十多年前，阿富汗海洛因开始从金三角占领欧洲和北美市场。这一变化发生之际，东南亚的毒品管制人员开始主要从事冰毒交易。

Douglas told VOA that even as Afghan production falls sharply, there is still large demand for opium on the world market. He said, "It's highly likely that we're going to start seeing Golden Triangle heroin returning to markets that it hasn't been in for quite some years."

道格拉斯对美国之音说，尽管阿富汗的鸦片产量急剧下降，但是世界市场对鸦片的需求仍然很大。他说:“很有可能，我们将开始看到金三角海洛因重返市场，这种情况已经有好几年没有出现了。”