Colombia saw cocaine production drop 28% in 2008, due in large part to the destruction of more than 200,000 hectares of fields growing the drug, putting potential production at the lowest level in a decade, according to a report from the United Nations.
Meanwhile, both Bolivia and Peru saw an uptick in coca cultivation last year.
While coca cultivation has decreased in Colombia since 2000 while rising in its two neighbors, Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, said more coca bush was eradicated in Colombia than was grown in all of Bolivia and Peru last year, an important achievement.
The U.N. report found cultivation of the crop in Colombia dropped by 18% to 81,000 hectares in 2008. At the same time, Bolivia saw a 6% rise in cultivation, followed by Peru at 4.5%. That helped push potential cocaine production up 9% and 4.1%, respectively. A hectare is one square kilometer.
The report didn't disclose production figures for Bolivia and Peru.
As for the cultivation decline in Colombia, the U.N. pointed to the manual eradication of almost 100,000 hectares of coca - a 44% increase in land purged than the prior year - and more than 130,000 hectares of coca that was sprayed.
The report also noted the market value of coca leaf in Colombia is falling, making it less attractive for farmers.
Finally, the U.N. also noted that efforts to disrupt drug trafficking have contributed to the decline in Colombia - long known for drug tracking - with some 200 tons of cocaine seized in 2008, a 57% increase.
-By Lauren Pollock, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5964;
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