Hectares of Colombian illicit crops increased by 3.2% in the year 2011, according to a report by the state statistic office (DANE) on Monday.
Despite the increase in cultivated crops, the director of DANE, Jorge Bustamante, reported to Colombia Reports that there was an estimated fall of 6.9% in the amount of harvested production during the year.
According to statistics from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that came out in August, the amount of cut cultivated hectares of illicit crops increased by 3.2% throughout the year of 2011 compared to the previous year in the area of approximately 2,000 hectares, or almost 5,000 acres.
There was also a decrease of 6.2% in yields obtained in tons per harvested hectare of coca, which caused the potential production of the fresh leaves to fall by 12.7%
DANE reported that the available production of the cocaine base to go to the market decreased by 6.2% because seizures of the substance increased by 37.6% in comparison to 2010, representing 15% of the total production potential.
Of the 432 tons produced, 146 were seized by armed forces. Therefore the overall potential production of cocaine that would be used to export decreased by 4.3%.
Producers have been forced to decrease their prices of the substance base by 6.7% and of the cocaine hydrochloride by 1.4%.