GRISHK, Afghanistan, May 11 (UPI) -- Afghan farmers expect another record opium crop this year and, as usual, others -- including the Taliban -- are expecting to share big profits.
The biggest opium harvest ever in the Helmand province is likely, The Independent reported, but market prices will be down. More than 20 percent of the world's heroin was produced in the province last year.
In all, 86 percent of the world's heroin comes from Afghanistan, the Independent said.
The glut of opium will find a price that has plummeted to less than $220 a pound -- 50 per cent lower than it was a year ago.
The poppy harvest began last week. It's difficult work and requires some skill, the newspaper said.
Each of thousands of poppy heads must be lightly scored with a four-bladed razor and then the oozing opium "milk" scraped off and collected.
Reports also say an increasingly well-organized drug cartel is flourishing because of a law and order vacuum.
