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Opium production hit an all-time high in Afghanistan last year, and the trend doesnt look like it will reverse any time soon, according to a new report from the special inspector general's office.

Increasing economic and political instability in a country that produces 80 percent of the worlds opium supply has only created more incentives for local farmers to grow poppies, and opportunities for Taliban traffickers to cash in on a growing global demand.

As you know, the narcotics trade poisons the Afghan financial sector and undermines the Afghan states legitimacy by stoking corruption, sustaining criminal networks, and providing significant financial support to the Taliban and other insurgent groups, John F. Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, wrote in an Oct.14 letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Attorney General Eric Holder and Rajiv Shah, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which administers civilian foreign aid.

Despite the significant financial expenditure, opium poppy cultivation has far exceeded previous records, Sopko wrote, adding that the increase is due to relatively high opium prices and the rise of an inexpensive, skilled and mobile labor force.

The U.S. has spent more than $7.7 billion on counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan in recent decades, Sopko said in a recent report that also explained how the opium industry expanded from $2 billion to $3 billion between 2012 and 2013.

But beyond these billions, a thriving global supply chain has created a lucrative international business.

The main profits on Afghan drugs are made outside of Afghanistan, as opium and its derivatives go to Europe, Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank based in Berlin and Kabul, said. Ruttig added that theyre moving in higher amounts toward Russia, India and Iran as local consumption is also increasing.

Traditionally, Afghan opium products such as heroin are transported through the Balkan region to lucrative markets in Europe. But the United Nations recently reported an increase in trade with South-East Asia and Oceania, a relatively new development stemming from shrinking markets in the West.

But even the relatively small profit local farmers make is a substantial incentive to keep going, and a lagging economy has only made opium a more appealing crop for farmers.

With a shrinking licit economy, the weight of the drug industry grows automatically, Ruttig said.

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Afghanistan Opium Production At Record High Amid Instability, Slowing Economy And High Demand