International Business Times, 29 October 2014
In this article about the expanding opium production in Afghanistan, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted:
“The main profits on Afghan drugs are made outside of Afghanistan, as opium and its derivatives go to Europe,” Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank based in Berlin and Kabul, said. Ruttig added that they’re moving in higher amounts toward Russia, India and Iran as local consumption is also increasing. […] But even the relatively small profit local farmers make is a substantial incentive to keep going, and a lagging economy has only made opium a more appealing crop for farmers. “With a shrinking licit economy, the weight of the drug industry grows automatically,” Ruttig said.
Revisions:
This article was last updated on 9 Mar 2020
