Global cocaine production hits record levels as post-Covid demand soars

Global cocaine production has reached record levels due to a surge in demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A new report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime states that coca cultivation increased by 35 percent to record levels between 2020 and 2021.

The largest markets for cocaine were found to be in Europe and North America, followed by South and Central America and the Caribbean.

The new findings also indicate that new smuggling hubs have emerged in West and Central Africa.

The Global Report on Cocaine attributed the increase in cocaine production to an expansion of coca bush cultivation, along with improvements in converting coca into grade A powder.

While markets in Africa and Asia are “still constrained,” the UN’s Ghada Waly said expansion is a dangerous reality.

The new findings suggest drug markets were disrupted during the pandemic as international travel was sharply reduced.

Findings showed that the use of parcel and courier services increased significantly due to the cancellation of passenger flights.

Demand also fell sharply due to the closure of nightclubs and bars during the lockdowns.

However, the report continues: “The most recent data suggests that this slump has had little impact on longer-term trends.

“The global supply of cocaine is at record levels.”

It added: “There is continued growth in demand, with most regions showing steady increases in user numbers over the last decade.

“While this increase can be partly explained by population growth, there is also a rising prevalence of cocaine use.”

The new findings suggest drug markets were disrupted during the pandemic as international travel was sharply reduced

There has also been a ‘significant increase’ in seizures of Class A drugs in the UK’s ‘fast parcel and postal modes’.

Worryingly, the report also found a rising trend in crack cocaine use in several Western European countries, particularly in Belgium, France and Spain.

The cocaine market expanded in Ukraine before Russia’s invasion last February – which, as expected, disrupted the market.

The report found that the supply of cocaine in South America has increased as criminal groups have taken over territory formerly controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). This, in turn, has led to competition between groups, increasing production.

The FARC was a Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group that operated in Colombia between 1964 and 2017, attempting to overthrow the country’s government and establish a communist state.

Mexican and Balkan criminal groups have moved closer to the production center to access supplies, although Colombia still dominates smuggling routes.