Producers have also increased efficiencies in the conversion of coca leaf into refined cocaine.
Morales vows to roll back eradication efforts in Bolivia and de-criminalize the coca leaf, though he's backing a zero cocaine policy.
The coca leaf is still chewed in some rural communities, and coca leaf tea is stocked for tourists, but suggesting that Colombia hasn't moved on from its inglorious past is considered ignorant and rude.
He does not want to appear a soft touch in the US war on drugs, as cocaine production has increased in Peru and now accounts for some 90% of the coca leaf grown in the country.
The populations which include the cocaleros (coca leaf growers) in Bolivia or the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) indeed have been key players in the election of leaders such as Evo Morales and Rafael Correa.
Mr Morales's appeal is in part because of his antagonism towards America and becaause of an almost mystical celebration of the coca leaf, chewed as a stimulant, but also processed into cocaine for illicit export, mostly to Brazil and Europe.
' US officials say the legally sanctioned coca leaf quota here already satisfies traditional uses and that more coca production will only mean more cocaine flowing out of Bolivia, but Morales says he's against cocaine and wants to talk with Washington about it.
Most of the people affected will be migrant coca-leaf pickers, who will be relocated to agricultural jobs in other areas.
But it has still to convince Bolivians that coca growing and coca-leaf consumption are not just part of their way of life but a crucial element in international crime.
Still, coca plantations in Bolivia and Peru are yielding more these days, and new techniques for extracting the leaf's active ingredients make cocaine production more efficient.
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