Peruvian authorities question UN data on coca leaf production

Peruvian officials are questioning recently released data from a United Nations agency that says the Andean nation has overtaken Colombia as the world’s top coca leaf producer, state news agency Andina reported. In 2009, Peru produced 119,000 tonnes of coca, the raw material used to make cocaine, representing about 45.4 percent of the Andean region’s [...]

Peru’s coca cultivation up 6.8 percent; coca production overtakes Colombia

The area used for coca bush cultivation increased for the fourth consecutive year in Peru, according to a report by the United Nations Office on Drug Control (UNODC). Peru’s coca bush cultivation rose 6.8 percent to 59,900 hectares in 2009, compared to 56,100ha the year before. The situation in Peru is “worrisome,” the UNODC said, [...]