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Afghanistan's opium production is expected to exceed 1999's record high of 4,581 tones in 2004 depending on total acreage and average yields as opium poppy cultivations has spread to new provinces and districts across the country. This situation has outlawed the opium economy by a fatwa signed by AfghanistanEs Council of Ulemas, which reinforced the ban pronounced by the Afghan transition government of Hamid Karazai.

A report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) revealed that Afghanistan is the worldEs largest producer of opium. The reasons for the increase are the chaotic collapse of Taliban rule and the widespread poverty faced by farmers as the country struggles to recover from years of war compounded by drought.