Regions continued Europe

Pyrite is the most abundant of the metal sulfides. Eor many years, until the Erasch process was developed, pyrite was the main source of sulfur and, for much of the first half of the twentieth century, comprised over 50% of world sulfur production. Pyrite reserves are distributed throughout the world and known deposits have been mined in about 30 countries. Possibly the largest pyrite reserves in the world are located in southern Spain, Portugal, and the CIS. Large deposits are also in Canada, Cypms, Einland, Italy, Japan, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, the United States, and Yugoslavia. However, the three main regional producers of pyrites continue to be Western Europe Eastern Europe, including the CIS and China. 

Amphetamine production continues to be primarily located in Europe, notably in the Netherlands and Poland, followed by the Baltic region and Belgium. Amphetamine production also takes place in North America (notably in the USA) and in South-East Asia. 

The general rise in the cannabis trend indicator was due to increasing cannabis use perceived by the authorities in most of Africa, several parts of Asia (South-Asia, South-West Asia and Central Asia) and most of South America. This more than offset declines perceived in North America and some European countries, as well as the stabilization or declines perceived in several countries of East and South-East Asia. Trend data for Oceania suggest stabilization at lower levels, after cannabis use had fallen for several years, though there are some indications that the downward trend in the region actually continued. Cannabis use trends in Europe showed a mixed picture, with increases perceived in East and South-East Europe and stabilization or decline reported from several West European countries. 

Sixty three per cent or 17 mt of global methamphetamine seizures continue to be reported from countries in East and South-East Asia 36 per cent are seized by North American countries. In comparison to 2004, the proportion of East and South-East Asia in the global methamphetamine seizures increased from 58 per cent to 69 per cent, while North America declined from 38 per cent to 36 per cent. In 2005, methamphetamine seizures in the regions of Oceania and Europe, accounted for 0.8 per cent of global methamphetamine seizures respectively. While methamphetamine seizures in Europe remain very low, reflecting the limited availability of methamphetamine on the European market, an upward trend has become discernable. European... 

South-East Asia continues to be the main market for such stimulants, accounting for 42 per cent of total seizures in 2005, followed by North America (17 %) and West and Central Europe (16 %). Other important regions include the Near and Middle East (11 %) and Africa (9 %). The proportion of seizures made in East and South-East Asia in 2005 was clearly higher than in 2004 (28 %), but remained below the average of the 2000-2005 period (49 %). 

In the meantime, ecstasy use continued to increase in a number of developing countries as was the case in the countries of Central America and South America in particular. 5 countries in that region reported an increase, 3 saw a stabilization but not a single one reported a decline. Most of the ecstasy Ibund in these markets continues to originate in Europe. 

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