The story came on while I was dropping off kids.  So I didn't pick up the
whole thing.  However, I was under the impression that the main reason for
the drop in opium prices was that those who held stockpiles of opium
were dumping them in anticipation of the war.


On Wed, 3
Oct 2001, David Fahey wrote:

> While driving home today (3 October 2001) I heard an NPR radio interview
> with a UN drug official.  The points made:
> 1) the Taliban ban on growing opium was enforced
> 2) stockpiles of opium allowed Afghanistan to continue to be a major
> supplier of opium
> 3) in the week after the 11 September tragedy the Taliban, apparently
> wanting to raise cash, dumped so much opium on the market that the price
> fell from $700/kilo to $90/kilo.
>
> As I was listening while driving, I am not sure where these prices
> prevailed, inside or outside Afghanistan.
>