NCJ Number
201639
Date Published
March 2003
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This report details the annual assessment of cocaine movement for the year 2002.
Abstract
Significant developments in cocaine eradication efforts are reported, as are the overall cocaine movement trends for 2002. Significant developments include the cutting of Andean coca cultivation by 8 percent by the end of 2002 and the reduction of coca crop by 15 percent in four of Colombia’s key coca growing areas, which is the first decline in Colombia’s crop production in a decade. However, the cultivation of coca increased in Peru and Bolivia during 2002. Despite this increase in cultivation, the production of cocaine in these areas remained stable. It is expected that cocaine production will increase in 2003 due to high coca prices and increasing demand in non-U.S. markets. Stable retail prices and purity levels in the United States and Europe suggest that cocaine remained readily available throughout world markets during 2002. Among the overall trends discussed in this report is the fact that the estimated cocaine flow out of South American, about 550 metric tons, destined for the United States remained the same in 2002 as it was in 2001. The Mexico/Central America Corridor continued to be the primary route for moving cocaine into the United States, responsible for approximately 72 percent of the cocaine in the United States. More than one-third of the cocaine flow out of South America in 2002 was destined for non-U.S. markets, primarily Europe. Figures