Afghanistan is world’s biggest producer of hashish, says a 2010 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The latest survey adds to the world’s concern on the war torn Afghanistan’s drug cultivation. Afghanistan is already world’s top opium producer. Now, according to the report, the country produces more hasish than opium.

The report points out that between 10,000 and 24,000 hectares of cannabis are grown in 17 out 34 provinces of Afghanistan every year. The actual production comes to around 1,500-3,500 tons a year. Most of the fertile land of Afghanistan is under cannabis cultivation. The report says money “is one of the main reasons” for large-scale cannabis cultivation as the annual income from it figures at an estimated high of $94 million.

The money made by illegal drugs trade is said to fuel the insurgency in Afghanistan with the Taliban siphoning off millions of dollars from the trade. The narcotics are smuggled through central Asian and Balkans routes and end up for sale in Russia, Western Europe and Asia. In recent months, the Taliban has stepped up its attack on NATO forces.

Read the entire report here.