CARLOS VALDEZ
Associated Press
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — The area under coca cultivation in Bolivia last year dropped to its lowest in 12 years, down 9 percent from 2012, the United Nations reported Monday.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean Bolivia is producing less cocaine.
The U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime does not measure potential cocaine production in Bolivia, the No. 3 coca producer, or in Peru, which the U.S. government says has been the world’s top cocaine producer since 2011.
The U.N. says Bolivia’s coca crop was down to 29 square miles (23,000 hectares) last year, 11.5 square miles (3,000 hectares) more than Bolivia’s government claims satisfy traditional demand.
Last week, the U.N. said Peru’s coca crop was down 17.5 percent last year — to 192 square miles (49,800 hectares).
Both countries practice manual eradication, and Bolivia has powerful coca-growers unions, of which President Evo Morales is a leader, that help decide which crops are destroyed and which are legal.
Experts say less-productive fields tend to be destroyed, while cocaine-processing becomes more efficient.
Coca cultivation figures for Colombia are to be announced on Thursday. The U.N. says Colombia had 185 square miles (48,000 hectares) in 2012.
The U.N., meanwhile, says Bolivian authorities seized 20.4 metric tons of cocaine last year, down 37 percent from 2012. It placed the value of Bolivia’s coca crop at $283 million last year, nearly 1 percent of gross domestic product.
Bolivia, in addition to being a cocaine producer, is also a major transit country for Peruvian cocaine destined for Brazil, Argentina and Europe.
The U.S. government cut off all remaining counterdrug aid to Bolivia last year, deeming inadequate Morales’ counter-narcotics cooperation.
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