Colombian Coca Cultivation Hits Record Level

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, coca production in Colombia reached its highest recorded level ever by the end of 2017. Between 2016 and 2017, the country's net coca cultivation area (calculated on 31st December) grew from 146,139 hectares to 171,495, an increase of 17 percent. During the same time period, potential cocaine hydrochloride production also increased 31 percent.

The UN stated that potential cocaine production in Colombia has a value of $2.7 billion in the local market with the region bordering the Pacific the most intensively cultivated. The following infographic shows net cultivation of coca in Colombia between 2010 and 2017. In recent years, the cocaine trade has been flourishing with some blaming the peace with FARC for creating a vacuum which is being filled by criminal groups. It is believed that FARC used to control up to 60 percent of Colombia's coca fields.