Prices are plummeting, partly because of massive overproduction
The world’s demand for cocaine appears insatiable. According to the latest data from the un Office on Drugs and Crime (unodc), although the number of consumers of the illegal drug in the United States has remained broadly stable for the past two decades, the number of users in Australia, Europe and Asia has kept increasing (see chart 1). Last month in Sydney, the biggest city in Australia, five people were shot in the space of five days because of gang-related turf wars sparked by a booming market for blow in that city. Yet in some parts of Colombia—the country that produces about 60% of the world’s supply of cocaine—white chunks of coca paste are piling up and prices are plummeting.
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https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2023/08/04/parts-of-colombia-are-now-awash-with-cocaine
