BOGOTA, (Reuters) – Peru has replaced Colombia as  the top producer of illegal coca leaf used in cocaine  production after years of U.S.-backed fumigation and  eradication in Colombia, the United Nations said yesterday.

Colombia remains the world’s top cocaine supplier and has  the largest area of illicit crops, but Peru now produces more  coca leaf by weight, a trend showing Peru could take over the  top slot as a manufacturer of the drug, the United Nations said  in a report. “In Peru, the area of coca has grown for the fourth  consecutive year, up 6.8 percent,” said Aldo Lale-Demoz,  representative of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime in  Colombia.