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Otago Witness, Issue 3993, 23 September 1930, Page 22

Only 48,000 acres are under cultivation for poppy crops in India, as compared with 207,000 15 years ago. 'The exports of opium will cease entirely in 1935, the ■ Government having undertaken in 1926 to ■ extinguish the trade within 10 years. The consumption of opium in India itself has fallen from 230,0001 b to 140,0001 b in 10 years and the Government tax revenue from £4,200,000 to £2,600,000. The ex- ’ tinetiqn of the trade, however, is proving a difficult task, and measures are now being taken to speed up the education of the people on the subject and to facilitate ' the substitution of other crops for the poppy. Only five years now remain in which to get rid of the opium business. • A private conference of district officers ’ was. held in Simla recently to discuss the subject, but its conclusions have not yet ' been made public.