Since the pandemic, global cocaine production has soared to an all-time high

After the global shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2023 is the year in which the vast majority of things are returning to full normality. and that includes world cocaine production.

Only this time the production of this drug surpassed 2019 levels and reached all-time highswith huge demand and more and more criminal groups involved, according to a United Nations report in a study published this Thursday in Vienna.

“Worldwide supply is at record levels“, points out the World Report on Cocaine 2023, which specifies that almost 2,000 tons of cocaine hydrochloride were produced in 2020, more than double the amount in 2014.

This production is of the highest purity, so the number reaching the market is much higher as drug traffickers mix the drug with other substances to increase their profits.

The increase in production is due both to the expansion of the cultivation of the coca plant and to improvements in the process of transformation into cocaine.

The report specifies that coca cultivation increased by 35% between 2020 and 2021, a record figure and the largest year-over-year increase since 2016.

The strong growth in supply is accompanied by a steady increase in the demand for cocaine. Although the traditional markets for this drug, North America and Europe, continue to be the most important, huge production can allow for expansion into Africa and Asia.

“The rising global supply of cocaine should put us all on high alert,” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Director Ghada Waly said in a statement.

“The Potential for Expansion of the Cocaine Market in Africa and Asia it is a dangerous reality“, He added.

However, cocaine seizures by law enforcement around the world have also risen sharply, reaching a record high of nearly 2,000 tonnes in 2021.

In fact, those seizures have increased at a faster rate than production, which means it has contained the growth in cocaine available for consumption.

New routes

Large North Sea ports such as Antwerp, Rotterdam and Hamburg have replaced Spain and Portugal as the most frequent entry points for cocaine into Western Europe.

Only in Antwerp were they seized in 2021 almost 90 tons of cocainewhile in Rotterdam it exceeded 70 tons.

Drug traffickers try to smuggle large quantities of drugs into containers, taking advantage of the huge commercial activity in these ports.

Although Colombia continues to dominate routes from South America to the US market, drug traffickers have diversified their routes in Central Americafrom where more and more cocaine is being shipped to Europe.

Regions such as West and Central Africa and South-Eastern Europe are becoming increasingly important as key transit areas for drugs.

More criminal groups

The report notes that the criminal landscape is fragmenting and more and more criminal groups are getting involved in the business.

The demobilization of the FARC in Colombia, which until then controlled many of the country’s coca-growing regions, paved the way for other groups, both local and foreign, especially Mexican and Balkan.

In Brazil it looks like organized crime increasingly target the Lusophone countries of Africasuch as Mozambique, Angola and Cape Verde.

Moreover, the report reveals it so-called “service providers” have multiplied.“, i.e. specialized groups that provide their services throughout the supply chain in exchange for a fee or a commission.

“These groups range from motorcycle gangs in Belgium to well-connected organized crime groups in Guatemala. Experts believe this practice is widespread throughout Central and South America, the Caribbean and Africa,” the report said.

Experts say that when smuggling routes and methods converge, the same groups can become involved in various criminal activities.

Source: EFE